Cosa Nostra
by LeadMeIntoTemptation
Summary: The man in Bella's bed was second in command of the largest Italian Mafia family in Chicago, and she was the cop that had sworn to take them down.  Follow her as she puts her life and her heart on the line.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a dark fic. Don't read if you don't think you can. This is also just an introduction to give some background so it won't be as long as the rest of the story. My blog has the pictures discussed at the end of the chapter and will have other pictures later on. www. Leadmeintotemptation. Worpress. Com . **

Rain slapped against the dirty double paned window at the fifty seventh precinct. She traced the path of a raindrop as it slid down the window with her finger. It had been raining nonstop for eight days, the gutters were so full they purged the water back and trash filled the streets. She sighed pressing her forehead against the window trying to see through the dirt and grime. The street was lit with two lights, both flickering and barely visible through the sheet of rain. She couldn't help but take the dreary weather as some kind of bad omen, ten days ago they had found the first body and yesterday they found the fourth.

She moved to her chair, the metal groaning under her weight when she leaned back staring at the ceiling full of water stains that had collected over the years. The precinct itself had beige chipped walls where her captain and others in the past just continued to cover the lead paint instead of removing it. She moved again, the chair voicing its distaste, so she could press her cheek against the cool metal of her desk. Everyone was gone, the other detectives that worked the day shift left hours ago, the night crew were out on a call and the uniforms were walking the beat. She sighed pressing her forehead against the desk as images of a tiny girl covered in blood raced through her mind.

"Swan." Bella shot up at the sound of her name, turning in the direction of the door. "I figured you'd still be here." Bella smiled at the sight of her partner, Seth Clearwater, strolling towards her with two coffee cups. He placed them on her desk before shaking the water off his coat and hat.

"I had a report to type up, for one of our other cases." Bella lied before breathing in the aroma of the coffee.

"I bet." Seth murmured sitting down across from her at his own desk. "Are you here thinking about the Amy Rollins case?" Bella diverted her eyes, the little girl drenched in blood. "Bella, you have to let it go, we lost. I know it's been awhile since we had a case involving a child…" He sighed heavily running a hand through his thick black hair. Seth had known Bella for a long time; they came through the academy together and worked at the same precinct during their first year on the beat. He knew what happened to her when they lost cases, especially so called "open and shut" ones.

"He killed that little girl Seth," Bella growled fisting the file in her hand. "And because the lab fucked up the knife he's free to kill another one!" She flung the file as hard as she could causing papers to scatter and float through the air before settling on the scarred linoleum. Bella squeezed her eyes shut, the tears prickling the edges of her vision before sipping the coffee, relishing in the familiar burn that took away the pain. They had been working on that case for eight months. Eight months of watching her grandfather deny his sin then slowly give in, an evil mask replacing his once innocent façade.

"Bells…you win some and you lose some but never forget all the lives we've saved and the people we've helped." Bella knew he was right no matter how much she wanted to deny it. She slipped back into her thoughts, holding the coffee between her hands even though the liquid was burning her through the thin cardboard. They fell into a comfortable silence, the only sound was the rain splattering against the windows until their phones started going off.

"Swan."

"Clearwater." They answered in unison. Bella shoved her hands under files that were three weeks past due in search of a pen. She located one and wrote down the address that dispatch was giving her on her notepad.

"Got it." She responded and stood up. "So much for our relaxing evening."

"It's two o'clock in the damn morning Bells, what evening?" He laughed as they made their way outside to their car.

O…O

The rain had settled into a drizzle, enough to piss Bella off but not enough to warrant a hat just yet. As they pulled up to the crime scene she knew something was wrong. There was yellow tape roping off the alley, cruisers marked off a wider area, their blue lights dancing off of the wet street. On lookers were gathered around the edge, trying to see what was causing such a ruckus this late at night. Bella pulled a Chicago Police Department pullover on, securing the chain that her badge hung from around her neck and stepped from the car. As they approached the tape the sickening feeling inside Bella's stomach grew. Seth lifted the tape for her to step under and they made their way to the black plastic sheet covering the body.

"Hey guys." Angela, who had just been appointed Chief Medical Examiner three months earlier, nodded to the partners before scribbling on her pad of paper. "Twenty two year old female, shot in the back of the head, dead maybe three hours." Then she knew, she knew why the scene caused a feeling of dread to creep inside of her. Bella knew right away that this was going to be their fifth girl. Seth knelt down next to the body and slowly pulled the sheet back.

She didn't look twenty two, hell she barely looked eighteen. Her once perfectly curled brown hair stuck to her face and the alley's dirty concrete. The heavy makeup that she wore slid down her skin with the rain, leaving tracks in its place. A slinky silver dress encased her lifeless body, one heel on her foot with the other twenty feet away. Bella closed her eyes tightly for a few seconds then walked deeper into the alley, pulling out her flashlight when she stepped over the threshold where the street lamps couldn't reach. The small light didn't help much in the darkness, just illuminated a four inch sphere in the direction she pointed it but Bella felt the need to look, look for any kind of clue to help out in this case. When she bent down to pick up a silver clutch the hair on the back of her neck stood up, Bella felt someone else's presence. Her hand drew her gun quickly, spinning to point it towards whoever was behind her but there was no one, just darkness. She quickly spun again, keeping her weapon drawn but again she was met with shadows.

She decided it was her nerves and holstered her weapon before picking up the clutch again, her hands sweating behind the latex. It was empty except for a pack of gum. Someone had cleaned up the scene, Bella thought as she started to walk towards the opposite opening of the alley. It emptied on a deserted street save for the group of men standing outside a steel door, the neon light atop read Garden of Eden. They were dressed in impeccable suits, each tailored to their specific body type and they seemed entirely out of place down on that side of town. Bella crossed the street towards the four men, wanting to take their statement.

The one facing her with blonde shaggy hair and a killer smile nodded his head and motioned at the one on his left, she couldn't make out the man to his left but he quickly disappeared inside the door making Bella extremely curious as to what was going on. When she was close enough Bella quickly surveyed the three remaining. The blonde was 6'1, about two hundred pounds, blue eyes. The man to his left, same height, brown hair, brown eyes, one hundred and eighty pounds, scar on his neck. The man to his right, 6'3, two hundred and fifty pounds solid, black hair, blue eyes, long scar that went across the length of his hand and disappeared inside the suit jacket.

"Can we help you officer?" The blonde one asked with a smile.

"Detective Swan, can I ask you gentlemen a few questions?" Bella asked holding up her badge and letting it fall back to rest against her chest.

"We always have time for the wonderful police officers in this fine city." He responded and the other two tried to stifle a laugh.

"Have you men been out here all night?"

"No, I'm afraid we just came out here about twenty minutes ago to discuss some business." His blue eyes flicked from the alley to Bella.

"So you haven't seen or heard anything unusual?"

"Nothing except the sirens." He motioned towards the alley.

"How about you two?" Bella looked at the other two men who shook their heads in the negative. "Well if you happen to remember anything please don't hesitate to call." Bella pulled a card out of her pocket and handed it over.

"What if I just want to call to say 'hi'?" The bulky one asked with a sly smile.

"Don't." Bella responded and jogged across the street, disappearing into the alley.

O…O

"Alright people, I know it's late but what do we got?" Jacob Black had commanded this unit for six years. He was forty years old but despite his age and time behind the desk his body remained intact and still filled out the suits he wore on a daily basis. His long black hair was streaked with gray and his brown eyes had lines around them from the years of stress and laughter. Bella's eyes flicked to her Captain before settling back on the white board in front of her.

"Fifth murder," Bella muttered looking at the five DMV photos taped to the board. "The fifth fucking murder Captain."

"Well where are we at on the murders?" Black crossed his arms over his large chest and stretched out his back as he looked over Bella's notes. "Anything connecting them?"

"Nothing except their appearances." Seth answered looking through his notepad.

Kimberly Rains.

Heather Martin.

Gemma Anderson.

Taylor Jackson.

Jane Doe.

Bella sighed going over each girl's name in her head, the last they had yet to identify. The others they eventually identified by their missing persons report sent out by a loved one. Their ages ranged from nineteen to twenty four, all within an inch or two of each other height wise, a few pounds in weight, brown eyes and brown hair.

"They could all be sisters." Bella sighed touching each picture slowly. Her eyes drifted to the map of Chicago they had taped on another board, a red dot indicating where they were found, blue dots showing where they were last seen. "Wait." She moved to the map following the line of red dots. How the hell had she not noticed this until now? "The first vic was found on east Division Drive, second on Elm then Bellevue followed by east Walton street and tonight we found Jane Doe's body on Pearson. That can't be a coincidence." The dots were in a perfect line heading south on the map.

"Yeah but where are they leading to? Is he moving away from or deeper into his comfort zone?" Seth asked trying to decipher the pattern.

"I don't know but we've got eight streets until it ends at the River." Bella grumbled staring at the map.

"Do you think that's where he's heading?"

"Who knows? I don't know if it has anything to do with the River because it also runs along the Lakeshore Drive." Bella sighed dragging her hands through her hair before tugging on it.

"Did you guys canvas the scene?" Their captain asks staring intently at the boards.

"Of course, I found fo-three guys in front of a bar called The Garden of Eden on the opposite side."

"You sure about that number Swan?" Black asked looking over at her.

"Yes," She narrowed her eyes. "There were four when I spotted them but by the time I made it to the group the fourth guy had walked inside. So I interviewed the remaining three." Bella moved to her desk to flip through the notebook lying there. "They claim to have seen nothing and heard nothing."

"Of course, isn't that what they all say?" Bella nodded in agreement. "Do you think that club had anything to do with it?" Seth shrugged sitting down at the computer.

"What did you say the name of it was Bells?"

"Uh..Garden of Eden." She moved to stand behind him, looking at his screen.

"Ah shit." Seth groaned pointing to the screen where the property manager's name was listed.

Carlisle Cullen.

O…O

Bella sat on her couch going over the file continuously, her eyes shifting over the lines trying to find anything that she might have missed. The Cullen's were a large crime family that had been around Chicago since the beginning. They started breaking the law during Prohibition, running moonshine throughout the city to city officials and other states. Then moved up to bank robberies in the late 20's to mid 30's before they realized buying politicians was much more lucrative. Skip forward a couple of decades when cocaine and marijuana became extremely popular, they wanted a hand in it.

Now the Cullen's were speculated to be linked to a gun ring that ran through from Ireland, intercepted in Canada and shipped down to Chicago where they distributed them through Detroit. Of course every time they would have them someone would always come forward and admit to the crime. There was chatter in Narcotics that the family ran their drugs up Lake Michigan into Canada but they couldn't prove anything. Where the Cullen's were concerned, you couldn't find enough evidence to take down anyone of importance.

I flipped a picture over of Carlisle Cullen, the word **Boss **was typed up below the surveillance photo. It was a picture of a dark haired man, piercing blue eyes and tan skin. He looked as if he'd rather kill you than look at you and in the picture you could clearly make out the handle of a gun peeking out beside his blue suit coat. No denying the men in that family weren't hard to look at. The picture looked like a model shot, he was leaning against a brick wall fixing his tie while waiting on someone Bella assumed. He was looking straight at the camera as if he knew the person was taking it, of course for all she knew he did.

The second picture was a man whose name was labeled as Eleazar DeLaterra beneath the name the word **Consigliere**. Bella didn't know what the hell a consigliere was so she quickly went to Wikipedia, her source for all knowledge. Her eyes danced over the screen certain words jumping out at her, "advisor" "right hand man" "appointed by the boss" "close associate." Bella sighed rubbing her fingers over her forehead and eyes before glancing back at the multiple files lying everywhere.

The ATF and Gang Task Force were all too happy to pass along copies of everything hoping they could somehow link these murders to the Cullen Family. The Chicago Police Department would take anything at all if it helped bring them down. They thought they ran the city, thought they were untouchable but Bella was going to quickly turn that around. All she needed was a way in, some way to get close to the family in order to ask a few questions. The only problem was when the police got a little too close their families ended up with their pensions because they disappeared and were pronounced dead. But none of it mattered, if Bella was to go "missing" no one would get her pension, no one would mourn the loss of her life and no one would speak about how they missed her while hanging her shield in their living room. The way Bella saw it; she had nothing to lose and everything to gain.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you to everyone that reviewed and added this to their favorites. The response blew me away ** **. Thank you to my beta SunflowerFran for making my chapter pretty and full of comas, also for schooling me on ellipses. Lemme know what you all think! **

"Okay so this is what you've got," Sam Uley, the lead investigator on the Cullen Family Taskforce said, as he placed the picture of Carlisle Cullen at the top of the board. Bella sighed, running a hand through her hair before leaning back in her chair. "Carlisle is the Boss."

"I know." Sam smiled.

"You think you know." He placed the picture of Eleazar right next to Carlisle's. "Consigliore." He pointed to the photo and Bella nodded. "The whole family will use him to settle disputes or go to him with questions when the Boss isn't around." He points to Carlisle's image.

"I don't understand how this is supposed to help me Sam."

"If you want to know about these people then you have to find a way in. These men," He pointed between the two pictures; "will kill you if you don't approach this correctly."

"All right." She waved her hand for him to continue.

"So after that you have the Underboss."

"Yeah about the Underboss, who is he? You guys have all this information on everyone else except for the mysterious Underboss."

"We don't know, plain and simple. It used to be Stefan Dacia, brought into the Cullen family as a Soldier in an attempt to join forces with the Russians, which was a huge leap of faith because traditionally you had to be of full, Italian decent to become a member. He worked his way up the ranks quickly, and the family appointed him to Underboss after two years. Everything was quiet until six months ago when we found Stefan in a warehouse in the West Loop." Sam placed a crime scene photo up on the board. It was a middle aged man with black hair, wearing an expensive suit, tied to a chair. What little was left of his hands had been bound to his feet behind the chair, his throat slit from ear to ear, and a dead bird stuck in his mouth.

"A bird?"

"A canary actually," Sam smirked. "A clear message. Stefan had been talking to the police, and when it was discovered the family handled it quickly and quietly. We didn't find the body until three weeks after he was murdered. It was a tremendous ordeal within their circle so now they're back to only accepting Italians, and you have to be connected."

Bella sat quietly. She had seen plenty of dead bodies in her time, starting from the age of fifteen. That seemed to be all she was surrounded by, but this one was different. She had never seen a murder that looked as if a great deal of thought had gone into it. Most of hers were "pop and drops."

"So you have no idea who the Underboss is; not even an inkling?"

"Well, Carlisle and Esme Cullen," Sam stopped to pick up a surveillance photo of a very pretty older woman with black hair gracefully piled to the crown of her head, and skin so pale it was almost transparent, making her bright green eyes stand out. She was running into Niemen Marcus, and even through this picture, Bella could tell this woman was in complete control. "Have three children, Emmett Cullen who is a Capo and currently married to Rosalie Cullen." He placed a picture of the large man she ran into outside of The Garden of Eden three nights ago. He had huge dimples and bright blue-green eyes. The woman on his arm was strikingly beautiful, blonde hair that hung to the middle of her back, tan skin and blue eyes.

"Jasper Cullen, another Capo and currently engaged to Alice Brandon of the New York Brandon's, a family in control of the largest counterfeiting ring on the eastern seaboard." Sam taped a picture of the blonde man with the easy smile on the board. A second photo was lying on the table; it captured Jasper walking down 5th Avenue with a small woman tucked under his arm. She was half his size with shoulder length dark hair and clear eyes.

"We finally have Anthony Cullen." He held up a picture of a little boy who couldn't be more than seven, the image was black and white, so there was no way she could tell eye color, hair color or even skin tone. He was wearing a heavy coat and carrying a toboggan, the woman next to him was trying her hardest to keep him close, but was struggling. Bella quickly identified the woman in the picture as Esme Cullen.

"Are you kidding me with this shit? They have two, grown ass boys and a … what, six year old?" Sam started to laugh.

"No, this is Anthony, he's the middle child born to Carlisle and Esme in June of 1984, and this was the last picture we ever captured of him." Bella looked at the picture again; the little boy was laughing and trying to pull on his mother's hand. When she studied Esme's face, it became apparent that while Esme had aged gracefully, she was clearly younger in this photo.

"So what happened to him?" Bella stared at the other pictures of the Cullens on the table.

"No one knows. There's a grave out in Mount Olivet with his name and date of birth on it but the date of death shows March of 1989."

"Why is that a problem?"

"Because this picture," Sam laid the black and white photo before Bella, "Was taken November 12, 1992."

"So what, you guys think he just disappeared?"

"Some guys in this squad think that Anthony is the Underboss and the family kept him hidden all these years, training and grooming him to become a ruthless Boss, one even less forgiving than Carlisle. That he was raised to turn this city into something dark and dangerous, a city without rules when he finally takes over. Others think there was a mistake, and this is just a cousin or friend of the Cullens and Anthony is buried and dead." Sam shrugs straightening out the files.

"And you?" She eyed the photo skeptically.

"I think Anthony Cullen is alive and well, and I think one day we'll see who he really is and what he has in store for Chicago."

O…O

Bella drove along West 111th street until she met South California, quickly turning left into the Mount Olivet Cemetery. She drove through the narrow roads inside the cemetery trying to find the location she had written down in her nearly, illegible handwriting. Bella sighed searching each headstone she passed trying to find the familiar name. Thirty minutes later she had yet to find the correct grave marker and was about to turn back when she noticed a mausoleum surrounded by trees. She crept her car forward before rolling to a stop and exiting.

The structure was creepy in itself, with huge pillars and an angel staring down over the door; her hands extended out as if she was bending down to pick Bella up. The iron door to the crypt was chained closed, a thick padlock keeping it secure. Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out why a tomb would be kept under lock and key as she circled it slowly. The marble walls were thick, and covered with dirt; ivy growing up the other three sides and intertwining across the roof. Bella stopped at the front again and tugged on the chain and then the lock. When she bent down to pull on the gate, the shrill sound of her cell cut through the dead air causing her to jump. Bella fumbled with her phone trying to pull it free from her belt.

"Hello?" She answered, trying to still her racing heart.

"Hey where are you? I've been trying to call you all day." Seth's voice came through the speaker.

"Sorry, I was over at the 43rd then came out to follow a lead."

"For which case?" Bella can hear papers rustling in the background.

"I uh … well the murders." Seth chuckled.

"Well that narrows it down, which murder Bells?"

"The girls."

"Oh, you caught a break?" The shuffling of papers stopped, and Bella could hear the sounds of the precinct and Seth's slow, steady breathing. Her eyes surveyed the cemetery to see if she was alone. There was no one in sight but that uneasy feeling that she was being watched returned.

"Not a break per se, I'm just digging up some background on the Cullens."

"Bella! What the hell? You can't go around that family without backup!"

"Seth, calm down, I'm not anywhere near the Cullens, I'm at Mount Olivet."

"The Cemetery off of the one-eleven?"

"Yeah." Bella bit on the edge of her lip as she examined the grounds again before walking away from the mausoleum.

"Why are you out there? I thought you-"

"For the investigation." She cut him off quickly; there was no reason to bring up the past.

"Well, why don't you brief me on what you've found."

"Yeah, I'll talk to you when I get back to the house."

"Do you want me to come out there?"

"No Seth, I've got it. I'll see you soon, okay?" Bella started her car and pulled away from the cemetery heading back towards the station.

O…O

Bella sat on her couch slowly drinking the red wine she had opened an hour ago, her eyes scanning the files that she had placed on her coffee table. She sighed, sorting through the hundreds of pages trying to find some connection to these girls and the Cullen Family. There was something there; she knew it, but she had to prove it. Her eyes scanned over the arrest report for Carlisle Cullen in 1971, when he was detained for questioning on a disappearance when they found the body in his trunk. The police arrested him, booked him and he went to trial only to be found not guilty. Bella's fingers twirled the wedding rings that hung from her neck absentmindedly as she read the same report countless times.

She cursed throwing the report back onto her table before leaning back and sipping her wine. Her eyes flicked to the TV where the local news was discussing the upcoming election for Mayor. Bella moved to stand up deciding that a shower would be better than reading over the same reports countless times. She moved through her double doors that led to the bedroom and walked to the jewelry box that sat on her dresser. Bella ran her fingers over the picture of her parents that was encased on the top. Her dad's smiling face, her mom's bright blue eyes. Once the delicate chain that she wore around her neck every day was removed and securely placed inside the jewelry box, she walked to the bathroom to wash away the day.

O…O

"Swan! In my office." Jacob Black barked as his dark eyes glared at Bella before he disappeared back into his office. Bella looked at Seth and shrugged when he looked at her in confusion. She slowly stood and made her way across the precinct towards her Captain.

"Yes Sir?" She asked hovering just inside the doorway.

"Close the door." Bella sighed and closed the door quietly behind her before walking to sit in front of his desk. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Which time?" She asked searching her memory over the past few days to see what she had done to piss someone off.

"Yesterday." He bit off angrily, holding up a piece of paper which he then threw across the desk towards her. Bella's eyes scanned the page, immediately feeling herself pale.

"Captain … this was ju-"

"Shut up." He held his hand up cutting her off. Bella fisted her hands under her thighs as she glowered at her Captain. "What the hell were you thinking when you requested a wir tap on the Cullens? Better yet what the hell were you thinking when you did this without my permission? You made me look like a fucking idiot when the police commissioner called wanting to know what you were doing!" He roared slamming a hand against his desk. His russet skin turned to a dark red color, and the vein on the left side of his neck was pulsing angrily.

"Captain, I'm sorry I didn't think I was going to get permission." His eyes narrowed. "I just wanted to know if they would approve it."

"How about you answer why you're even looking into the Cullen Family?"

"I think they're connected to the five girls that were murdered."

"How?"

"I...haven't quite figured that out yet." Bella muttered.

"So let me get this straight. You went behind my back, requested a wire tap on the most dangerous family in Chicago and you don't even know how they're connected to the murders, or _if _they even are?" Bella could tell her Captain was trying very hard not to yell, but his thinly, veiled anger was starting to break through. "You get back to your desk and work this case. Leave the Cullens alone; if you find something that links them to this murder then you come and see me before anything else." Bella nodded once and stood up to leave his office.

Once she was settled back in her desk, Seth looked at her but could sense she didn't want to talk. She sighed as she read over the murder files, case evidence and her own notes to find a connection other than the club. Bella was glancing over Jane Doe's file when something caught her eye. _Last known employer: Candidate Masen's campaign headquarters. _She moved to Taylor Jackson's file, the previous murder, but she worked at Starbucks on campus.

"For a second I thought maybe candidate Masen was going to be our link." Bella laughed. Seth looked up at Bella as the realization started to show on his face.

"What'd you say?"

"Candidate Masen, the guy running for Mayor against Martin." Seth's brow furrowed, and he started digging through the files. "Seth what is it?"

"That name, I remember seeing something." He pulled out the crime scene photos from the Jackson murder. He turned a photo of her small dorm room towards Bella. She searched the picture, her eyes flying from the walls to the bed to the girl's small desk in the corner.

"Seth what am I looking for?" He pointed to a piece of paper lying by the bed. Printed on the paper was the clear logo of Masen's campaign. Bella looked up at Seth then back at the picture. "It's not a lot, but it's a link for the two. Let's go." She stood up, grabbed her jacket and rushed out the door.

O…O

Bella and Seth pulled up outside of the glass office building; a huge banner read "Vote Yes on a New Chicago" was strung across the front, and window paint colored the doors with the candidate's name. She stepped out of the car and looked around. There were people shuffling in and out of the building carrying boxes and wearing _Masen for Mayor _t-shirts.

"You know it's November, and the elections aren't until February, you think they'd hold off for another month."

"If they waited no one would know who they were come February."

"Yeah, but they've been campaigning since September." Seth pulled the door open waving Bella inside.

"Hi can I help you?" A bouncy bottled blonde asked as she held up a clipboard and pen.

"Detective Isabella Swan, we need to ask you guys a few questions." Bella held up her shield.

"Oh … uh … I- okay." The girl chewed obnoxiously on her lip as she twirled a piece of hair. "Well what can I do? I'm in charge of the campaign office." Bella raised an eyebrow. The girl looked like she couldn't figure out simple addition in her head.

"What exactly do you do?"

"Well, I hire people; reach out for hiring other people, all on volunteer basis of course." She giggled. "Then I just kind of divide people into different departments." Bella pulled the two DMV pictures out of her pocket and held them up.

"Do you recognize these two women?" She glanced at the photos then back to Bella.

"What did they do?"

"They died." The blonde stared intently at the pictures trying to mask her surprise.

"They look kind of familiar but I don't know. I see a lot of girls that look like that; we work on the campuses."

"Is there someone here that might know more?"

"Well, feel free to question any of the volunteers, I hope someone can help." She waved her hand to the floor before moving behind a glossy, high top desk. They moved around the room questioning volunteers and showing the victims' photos around. Most didn't recognize them. A few recognized Taylor Jackson but couldn't recall her name.

"Something very odd is going on here." Seth muttered as they stood to the left of the office space.

"You picked up on it too?"

"How could Jane Doe have been one of the view paid workers here, but no one recognizes her?" Seth asked, his eyes moving around the room.

"They're either covering something up, or she wasn't here long enough to be memorable."

"Well we've asked everyone here."

"Not everyone," Bella started to walk back towards the blonde manager. "Where's the candidate?" The girl looked up.

"I'm sorry?" Bella waved her hand towards the door.

"Candidate Masen, where is he?"

"Uh, he's out…campaigning." She said it slowly like it would be the most obvious answer.

"Well we'd like to speak to him."

"I don't know where he is, his campaign manager would have that information."

"And they are…?"

"Her name is Irinia Collettie, but she's with him."

"How about a phone number?"

"I can't give that information out." Bella felt her anger starting to rise as she leaned in.

"I need to know where to find him for questioning."

"If you'd like to leave a card I can pass the information along." Her jaw tightened.

"Fine … give him my card and tell him he has twenty-four hours to get in contact with me or I'm coming back. And that time, if I have to come back here, I'll have an arrest warrant." Bella tossed a card onto her desk then turned and walked out.

O…O

"Please tell me you didn't threaten a campaign worker?" Bella's Captain stood by her desk with his arms crossed.

"Not that I recall." Bella looked across at Seth then back towards Jacob.

"Really, because the Chief of D's called and said that you threatened to arrest candidate Masen." He spoke evenly.

"I didn't threaten to arrest him; I just asked that he call me within the next twenty-four hours."

"Or…?"

"Or…I'd find him myself and ask him the questions I need answers to."

"And nowhere in there did you say anything about arresting him?" Bella shifted in her seat and looked to her partner again.

"Captain, Bells didn't threaten to arrest the Candidate, I can attest to that." Seth spoke up. Covering each other wasn't anything new in their partnership; thankfully he was taking this one, even though Jacob knew they were lying.

"Bella, I swear…if I get one more call this week about you, you'll be on suspension. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal, Sir." He walked back to his office, shutting the door firmly behind him.

"Well shit, I have to keep myself under the radar for the next three days." Bella laughed moving the recent, crime scene photos to the edge of her desk. Seth chuckled shaking his head. He looked up to say something, but his eyes diverted to the door over Bella's right shoulder. Bella turned to follow his vision, and there, in the doorway stood a very tall man that Bella had become accustomed to seeing over the last few months.

Edward Masen was a handsome man, with bright green eyes, auburn hair and lips so red they stood out against his porcelain skin like blood on paper. She stood and walked towards the door, sizing the man up. His suit was expensive and tailored specifically to his body. The suit was black, his shirt white and the tie was bright red. He had one hand in his pocket the other checking his watch.

"Can I help you?" Bella asked.

"I'm looking for a Detective Swan; he seemed to be causing quite a problem at my headquarters today." His expressive eyes cut through her. There was something familiar in them but Bella quickly shoved it aside, chalking it up to seeing his face around town.

"Well I'm Detective _Isabella _Swan," She smiled at his confusion. "And I'm a female. Shocking, I know." She waved a hand.

"Well, let's get this over with Detective." Edward sighed unbuttoning his suit jacket.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you guys for the follows, favorites and alerts. Especially the reviews. I tried to reply to them. I pulled a muscle in my lower back last Saturday and I was bed ridden as well as completely useless for the week. Here's the update though, a week late. Thank you to my beta SunflowerFran for erasing all my repetitive words and giving me synonyms. **

"How do you want to do this?" Seth asked, running a hand through his hair while staring through the two-way mirror. Bella thought over the different types of interrogation methods they could employ to crack the cool exterior of Edward Masen.

"I'm going in alone." Bella spoke, her eyes flicking back towards the glass. She picked up a file before stepping through the door and into the small, interview room. Edward sat at the metal table, his fingers flying over the keyboard on his phone. He didn't look up as she sat across from him and dropped the folder. Bella cleared her throat, but his eyes didn't leave the screen for a full, thirty seconds.

"So," Edward finally spoke, placing his phone inside his suit jacket. "What could be so important that you would walk into my campaign headquarters and demand to speak with me?" Bella calmly removed the five photos, slowly placing each of them in front of Edward.

"Kimberly," She pointed to the first photo. "Do you recognize her?" His eyes searched the photo for a brief second.

"I can't say that I do."

"Are you sure?" She pressed.

"Positive." Bella flipped the image face down before moving to the second and third.

"Heather Martin, and Gemma Anderson." His eyes lingered on the two pictures a second longer.

"I recognize them, but I didn't know their names." Edward's eyes were growing dark.

"Where do you know them from?"

"They worked on my campaign, one as an intern and the other a volunteer." Bella flipped them over.

"If you remember them then you must remember her." She held up the fourth photograph.

"Her name was Taylor Jackson." His jaw set.

"Yes it was and where do you know her from?" Bella prodded.

"I'm sure you've done your homework detective, or you wouldn't have called me down here. I'm guessing the first young lady worked on my campaign, as well. They all have."

"And you don't find that odd?" Bella leaned back in the chair, crossing her arms. "That all these girls worked on your campaign and now they're dead?"

"I need to go, is there anything else I can help you with?" Edward started to stand from the chair and button his suit jacket.

"Mr. Masen, we're not done here." She stood up quickly.

"Yes, we are." His green eyes were almost black as he stared at her. "I have work to do detective."

"Tell me who this last girl is, then you can leave." Bella yielded, watching as Edward picked the picture up, his eyes traced every inch of it before speaking.

"Her name was Lindsey White; she was one of the department directors. Lindsey was a hard worker, and I am shocked to hear of her passing. Please ensure that I will compensate all of their families for time to the campaign."

Bella had to physically restrain her eyes from rolling. He was feeding her a standard and overtired line. Edward stood and flipped the photo to lie face down on the table. He left a card on the top of her file, muttering a 'call me' if she had any other questions pertaining to him or his campaign. Bella sighed when the door closed behind him, dropping her head into her hands. A few minutes passed before Seth opened the door to the interview room.

"You good?" He asked walking over to sit in the seat Edward had vacated.

"Yeah," Bella sighed shuffling the pictures together and placing them back in her folder with his card. "I got a name."

"I heard," Seth nodded. "We need to inform the family." Bella chewed on the edge of her lip. In the years she had been doing this job, notifying the family never got any easier.

"I suppose you're right," Bella stood, collecting her things. "Let's go."

O…O

_The rain was splattering against the windshield and the wipers were doing a sorry job of clearing it off. Bella shuffled in the backseat looking at the dark street ahead of them through the cage. The headlights of the car reflected off the wet street and the heavy sheet of rain. _

"_Where are we going?" _

"_Well Isabella," Bella cringed at the sound of her full name. "We're taking you back to your home." _

"_Did you guys ever think there's a reason I keep slipping out?" _

"_All you runaways have the same story." The cop laughed before sipping his coffee. Bella rolled her eyes, she really hated the fucking cops in Chicago. _

"_I'm not a runaway, I don't have a home." _

"_Well I think Mr. and Mrs. Thomas will be very upset to hear you say that." _

"_If they ever stayed sober long enough, maybe." The douche cop's partner shifted in his seat to look back at her. _

"_Is there something going on we should know about?" He asked, his blue eyes full of concern. He was obviously younger than the one driving and a lot nicer. _

"_Don't let her start on a sob story, rookie. They all got one, and once they lure you in; it's hard to get out." The old, overweight cop clapped the rookie on the shoulder and he turned around without a second glance back. _

_As they neared the house Bella could see all the lights on, the rain was probably leaking into her shared bedroom through the open window. The old cop exited the car and walked up the steps to the front door. Bella could hardly see through the rain, but the porch light illuminated enough of her foster father that she could see his stained shirt. Everything happened so quickly. _

_One minute, the cop was speaking to Mr. Thomas and the next he was on the ground. The rookie shot out of the car with his weapon drawn, running toward the front of the house and her foster father lifted the shotgun then fired; the shot hit the car with a loud bang before the glass of the passenger windows shattered, raining shards down upon her. A small scream erupted deep in Bella's throat from the shock and the impact. When her eyes found the front door again, both her foster dad, and the old cop were on the ground, the rookie yelling into his radio. _

"_Ten double zero, ten double zero. Officer down! Shots fired, shots fired!" _

Bella jerked up in bed reaching for her gun. Her fingers slid over her bare hip as she kicked the blankets off of her legs. Her head snapped back and forth, eyes searching every inch of the dark room before she pulled her gun from beneath her pillow. Bella took a deep breath to calm her racing heart as she slipped soundlessly out of bed; her bare feet shuffling over the hardwood, while she checked the windows and both doors of her apartment.

"Jesus." She breathed, pressing her back against the steel of her front door and glancing around her apartment. "There's no one here Bella. There's no one here."

O…O

"You look like shit." Seth waltzed into the precinct carrying two cups of steaming liquid.

"Thanks," Bella yawned before reaching for the cardboard cup. "Did you find anything new?" She sipped the sweet elixir.

"Nope, I gave up after eight and went home."

"I'm sure Leila was happy you were home so early." Bella replied sarcastically.

"Where did you run off to last night?" Seth read over a few files.

"I met with Sam again, but that led nowhere," Bella sighed. "Then I just went home." She blocked out the memories from her dream.

"What time did you get in this morning?" Bella checked her watch, it was eight thirty.

"About four hours ago." She ignored Seth's sigh. Bella's eyes travelled to their board where there was nothing new, just the same notes she had read one thousand times before. "Seth, I feel as if this is going to end in a cold case."

"I know." Seth groaned running a hand through his hair. "Oh, Angela wanted you down at autopsy; she sent the message up last night." Bella nodded and stood, grabbing her coffee before she walked towards the elevator bank.

"I'll be back." Bella yelled before the doors closed, encasing her in the small box. She watched the numbers descend until they hit the illuminated B.

She stepped into the metal lined hallway, double doors rested at the end with several single doors on each side. Bella pushed through the doors, letting them slam against the wall to make her presence known. Angela looked up from where she was standing over a cadaver, her hands deep inside his chest. Bella's stomach rolled slightly as she watched the M.E. pull out the man's heart and placed it on the scale.

"I don't know how you do this all day, Ang." Angela spoke into a recorder about the abnormal size and weight of the poor man's organ.

"Do what?" She asked smiling at her friend.

"Pull people apart."

"Bella, you have been to more crime scenes than anyone else around here."

"Yes, but I don't have to cut them open and pull out their internal organs all day. What killed this poor schmuck?"

"A heart attack probably, do you see how large his heart is?" Angela pulled the heart out of her scale and held it up. Bella put her hand up and turned away.

"Please put that wherever it needs to go." Angela laughed and placed it inside a container before pulling her gloves off.

"So, I called you down here because of the latest vic," She moved to her office located off to the side of autopsy. "She had semen inside her."

"What? Was she assaulted?" Bella picked up the file to read over it.

"I don't think so, the signs point toward consensual."

"Did you run it?"

"Nothing hit, your guy isn't in the system."

"Well it sounds like it's time for a warrant." Angela nodded while Bella pulled her phone out to text Seth. "Thanks Ang." Bella waved the file as she walked out with her phone pressed to her ear.

O…O

"The D.A. is still working on the warrant; I do-" Seth's sentence was cut off by Bella's desk phone ringing. She reached for it and quickly answered the line.

"Detective Swan's desk." Bella reached into her pocket for her pen and notepad writing down the address. She placed the phone back into its cradle and looked up at her partner. "We caught another one."

The short ride to the address was quiet and tense; Bella had a bad feeling creeping into the pit of her stomach. They pulled up to the nondescript apartment building and exited the car. Bella surveyed the area noticing a lot of bystanders trying to look around the uniforms. They walked along the perimeter, her eyes moving over the scene as they made their way toward the stairs, dipping under the yellow tape. A uniform manning the staircase nodded and allowed them up the stone steps.

The rusty smell of iron hit Bella on the second step and grew stronger as the neared the door. She stepped into the apartment marked 210 and looked around. Nothing was out of place, appearing as if it had been cleaned after the murder. She made her way toward the bedroom, where the smell was overpowering her senses, getting stuck in her throat and staining her skin. A brunette was haphazardly lying across the bed, her head hanging off with her face towards the door.

The poor girls face was frozen in fear, her lifeless eyes staring into Bella's and her mouth hanging open. The victim's throat was sliced from ear to ear, the blood dripping down her jaw, mixing into her hair and staining the floor. She was naked, her legs and arms were spread out across the tarnished bedspread. There was blood on the walls, the ceiling and the lamps.

"Jesus Christ." Seth muttered.

"The murder is different but doesn't the girl look familiar?" Seth nodded grimly, his face turned to stone.

"Number six." He sighed.

"He's escalating." She whispered, barely loud enough for her own ears to pick up the sound. There was a blanket of white powder raining down around them, covering everything with a fine dust; it almost appeared to be snowing inside. Bella tentatively licked her lips. "Taste that?" Seth nodded.

"Cocaine." He shook it out of his hair.

"It tastes clean; I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't pure. Hey," Bella snapped her fingers at a CSU tech. "Get a sample of this." She waved towards the air.

"What in the name of God?" Angela asked from the doorway as her eyes took in the scene.

"Can you tell if she had sex before she died?" Bella asked quickly, pulling her notepad from her back pocket. Angela placed her kit on the floor next to the bed and got to work on the body.

"Do you smell that?" Seth asked moving his head back and forth.

"I can't smell anything but the blood." Bella took a deep breath, the rusty scent taking over her senses again. She could detect something else just as harsh, but she couldn't place it. "What is that?"

"It smells like bleach." He stepped into her bathroom. "Found the empty canister." Seth held it up for a crime scene tech to bag.

"If he was going to clean up, why leave all the blood?"

"Well your vic had sex but there's no DNA evidence, I'd say that's what the bleach was for." Angela spoke up. A shiver ran the length of Bella's spine as she stepped from the room. Pictures of the victim with her family and friends decorated the walls of her living room. Bella's jaw tightened when she came across a photo of the victim and Edward Masen along with a group of other young faces. Probably taken at some campaign event, everyone was dressed in formal wear.

"Seth!" Seth walked around the corner into the small room.

"You rang?"

"I know this was Masen." Seth shifted his weight.

"You can't just go and accuse him Bella, that's dangerous territory."

"I don't give a fuck Seth, I'm going there now." She growled shaking the dust off of her clothes as she walked towards the door.

"Bella!" Seth chased after her.

"Stay here and clear the scene, I've got this."

"Bella, no."

"Seth, it's fine."

"Bella," He grabbed her arm, turning her around to face him. "You're being a little hasty; we have to build the case."

"I'm not going to arrest him; I just have a few questions."

"No, you're going to go accuse him, and he's going to slap a lawsuit on our asses."

"He wouldn't do that, he's too cocky."

"You met the guy for ten minutes, Bella. You don't know anything about him." Bella sighed looking to the first floor where the number of onlookers was steadily growing.

"You're right. You're right; I'm going to go back to the house and clear my head. Look over the case file." Seth's dark eyes narrowed as he looked over her.

"Bella…"

"I promise." She held up her hand. "I'll see you later." She turned and jogged down the stairs going towards the street. It wasn't a far walk from Chicago Avenue to Edward Masen's headquarters. Thankfully it was in the same direction as the bus stop, because Bella could feel Seth's eyes on her. She disappeared around the side of the building, pulling her sunglasses into place.

O…O

Bella sat on a bench across the street from Masen Headquarters watching as his minions shuffled in and out of the building carrying various papers, posters and large signs with his face on them. She chewed on the edge of her lip, sitting back as her fingers twisted the chain around her neck. There had to be a way to get to him without her captain finding out and getting pissed, or worse, Seth.

She looked up and down the street; people were emptying out, now that the lunch hour was ending. She had watched Mr. Masen leave an hour and forty three minutes ago, but he had yet to return. She checked her watch again before focusing back on the building.

She waited another thirty seven minutes before a black town car slowed to a stop in front of the office space. The driver stepped out, dressed in a black suit with a white shirt, even a fucking hat on his head, and jogged to the opposite side of the car. She watched as Edward Masen appeared, his jaw was set and his suit lightly ruffled. He ran a hand through his hair trying to push it back into place and straightened his coat out before walking towards the glass doors.

Bella figured now was as good of a time as any, and pushed herself off the bench to cross the street. She took a deep breath, her tension starting to rise as she neared the building. Bella once tried to control the anxiety that set in before she was about to speak with a suspect, but now she welcomed it, let it take over her body. It reminded her that she was still alive and that the depravity hadn't consumed her soul just yet.

"Can I help yo- oh … you." The buxom blonde from before, popped her gum and narrowed her eyes. "I'm not supposed to let you back in here; I'll have to call the police." Bella rolled her eyes and pulled her badge from her hip.

"Did you forget?"

"Not Chicago Police." She replied cryptically.

"I just want to talk to him for a minute."

"No." She crossed her arms over her chest. Bella moved closer to her, watching the fear set into her blue eyes.

"Let me speak with him." She replied lowly. "Or I'll go into every, god damn room in this building with my gun drawn."

"I'd like to see you try and kill him."

"Sweetheart I'm not trying to kill him." Bella laughed. "I really just want to talk to him."

"Can I help you?"

A familiar, cold voice asked from behind her. Bella turned slowly until Edward filled her vision. He was so close that she had to crane her head back to see his face. The position she found herself in was making her uneasy, her fingers itched for her gun because of her vulnerability. She cleared her throat and discreetly stepped back a few inches, making it seem like she was just looking around the room. Edward smirked watching her body language shift.

"I need to speak with you about the murders." She spoke loud enough for the room to hear. Some eyes shifted to look at Edward but quickly moved back to their work.

"Well then why don't we take this somewhere private?" He had changed out of his black suit from earlier; he was now wearing charcoal pants, a blue shirt, and matching gray vest. This man did love his three piece suits.

Edward held his hand out for Bella to walk ahead of him towards the elevator. She squared her shoulders and strolled confidently through the room, her eyes trained forward. They rode in a tense silence as the numbers climbed to the tenth floor. It opened to an identical office space, and he walked ahead of her before opening the door on the end.

"So why don't you tell me why you have, once again, interrupted my daily life detective Swan?"

"Whitney Carter." Something flashed across his face, but it was so quick Bella couldn't decipher it.

"What about her?"

"Found her in her apartment this morning, she's dead. Quite a heinous murder if I do say so myself."

"And you believe I had something to do with her death?" Edward leaned against the edge of his desk; his ankles crossed and his arms folded across his chest.

"I do. I think you're behind this whole damn thing actually." Bella replied casually as she walked the edge of the room, her eyes moving from picture to picture. They were what you would expect from a politician; images of him with delegates, heads of states and senators.

"Why don't you get to the point detective," Edward sighed. "I have a very important meeting soon."

"They might have to wait." Bella checked her watch.

Edward cleared his throat. "What is it you want detective? I'm not a patient man." He ran his hand through his hair.

"I know you have something to do with these murders. This last murder had a roomful of cocaine; if I was to bring in a team and tear this place apart, will I find the same thing here?"

"You have no reason to be here," Edward stood straight and pulled his coat on. "If you'll please leave, I have work to do." He began to walk behind his desk but Bella stopped him, standing in his way.

"Don't make me do this Mr. Masen, just tell me how you're connected. I don't want to have to tarnish your spotless record during election season." Edward leaned down, his face inches from her.

"Threaten me one more time detective, and see what happens."

"You just threatened an officer of the law."

"You're correct," Bella watched as his jaw tightened, and he glared at her. "And you should heed the warning."

"Or what?"

"Or you'll end up like your parents." Bella's blood ran cold as she stared at the man in front of her. She didn't think, didn't consider the consequences, she just reacted. Bella moved so fast Edward didn't have time to stop her fist from connecting with his jaw. She kneed him in the balls, and as he leaned over to catch his breath she moved to kick him. Edward grabbed her leg, jerking it forcefully so she fell to the ground, her head bouncing off the marble floor. His lip was bleeding, staining his jacket and his breathing was labored.

Bella blinked hard, her eyes moving slowly around the room as she tried to stop her vision from blurring. Her head was throbbing and hot, pain was radiating from her entire body. She knew she had a concussion by the sickness churning in her stomach. Bella breathed deeply three times to correct her equilibrium before looking above her where Edward stood. He looked almost remorseful as his eyes searched hers.

"I apologize detective, but you were trying to hit me."

"I was trying to kill you asshole." She moved slowly to her feet, the room shifting beneath her. Edward stepped forward to help her, but Bella drew her gun, keeping it trained with shaky hands on the middle of his chest. "Touch me again and I will kill you."

"It was self defense, you threw the first punch."

"You threatened to kill me."

"I didn't say those exact words," Edward stepped closer until the muzzle of the gun was pressed against his chest. "If you're going to shoot me, please hurry. I have to change once again and clean up for my meeting."

Bella lowered her weapon momentarily, his words playing on a loop in her head. Once again, working off of instinct, Bella raised her gun and brought the butt of it across his perfect cheekbone. Edward stumbled back a step, working his neck slowly. Bella watched him run his tongue along the inside of his cheek checking for blood. A bright red bruise was already forming beneath his eye.

"Did you just pistol whip me?" Bella holstered her weapon, a smirk pulling at the edge of her mouth.

"I did." Edward was breathing deep trying to keep his anger at bay. Bella turned to leave but he stopped her with a hand on her throat.

"No one touches me." He growled, forcing her against the wall, his hand tightening on her throat. Bella pulled at his hand as he lifted her to her toes. She tried to keep calm, her breath coming in quick, small gusts, barely enough to satisfy her lungs. When Bella looked into his eyes they were cold and dead. She moved slowly, trying not to draw his attention to her hand as her vision started to cloud. She took one last breath before pulling her weapon free with unsteady hands and pressed the barrel to his thigh and squeezed.

The shot rang out in the room and Edward's brow furrowed before the hold on her neck relaxed.

Bella dropped to the floor once again; her legs folded under her as she breathed deep, even breaths so she didn't pass out. Her neck was now throbbing and her throat burned. Edward was muttering quick and angry words under his breath, but Bella could only focus on the pain radiating in her own body.

When her captain caught wind of this, she was going to be in so much shit.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: You guys always make me smile with your reviews. I replied to most of them, unless you were a guest or had your PM's disabled, which was a lot surprisingly. Someone asked if Edward was a vampire, no he's not. I write All Human stories and just realized that I didn't include that in the summary. **

**Happy Reading!**

Bella sat in the leather chair across from deep mahogany desk taking note of her injuries. She had a concussion; her neck was bruised and throbbing, and the knuckles on her right hand were swollen. At least she didn't have a gunshot wound. Bella sighed looking across the desk at Edward; his eyes were closed as he talked quietly into his cell phone. The rag that he had pressed against his leg was now drenched in blood, and the smell was enough to make her want to gag. Bella sighed laying her head back against the chair trying not to fall asleep.

It had been three hours since she shot him. Three hours of deafening silence. Three hours of aches and pains.

"Mr. Masen." Bella sighed watching as his green eyes flicked to her. He murmured into the phone then ended his call.

"Yes detective?"

"Would you like for me to take you to the hospital?"

"That would just bring unwanted attention," He sighed tossing the rag into the trash. "Besides, had you not shot me we wouldn't be in this predicament."

"You were going to strangle me!" Bella threw her hands up.

"No, I wasn't … everything just got a little out of hand. What you did is still infinitely worse."

"It's just a flesh wound; I made sure it wouldn't do any permanent damage." She rolled her eyes.

"Well thank you for that." Edward replied sarcastically.

"You're welcome." Bella ran a gentle hand through her hair, letting her fingers graze the knot on the back of her head.

"We can leave now, everyone is gone." Edward checked his watch before standing.

"Is that why you've been holding me hostage?"

"Well I didn't need you to attract any more attention than you already have and I couldn't walk through the office like this." He pointed to the bleeding gash. Bella stood, gripping the back of the chair to keep from passing out as the dizziness overtook her. Edward stood, shifting his weight so that he didn't place too much pressure on his left leg. "Ready?"

Bella nodded. "I was ready three hours ago."

"Are you always so difficult?"

"Are you always a bastard?"

"For the most part," Edward answered, leading her to the elevator. They rode in a strained silence, the sounds of their breathing and the soft music filling the small box. Bella's brow furrowed in pain as they stepped from the elevator and walked towards the front door. Her body was protesting the movements, her equilibrium shifting. She was concentrating too hard on placing one foot in front of the other, because when she stumbled, her reflexes weren't prepared. She fell to the ground, groaning in protest as her body connected with the hardwood.

"Son of a bitch." She looked up to find Edward standing above her, just staring.

"Really?" He asked.

"Shut up and help me, my whole body hurts." Edward lifted her easily off the floor, placing her back on her feet and keeping a hand around her bicep as they walked out. "I should arrest you for assaulting a police officer."

"And I should report you for shooting an unarmed man." Once on the street, a black town car was idling in front of the building.

"You should get that looked at." Bella motioned towards his leg then walked towards her apartment.

O…O

Bella sighed looking at herself in the mirror; there was a clear handprint around her throat; the long fingers stretching almost to the back. She had kept herself awake all night but there was no way she could go to work today. Seth would be all over her. Bella walked to her spare room where she had set up a makeshift war board. Pictures of anyone who was associated with the Cullens hung on the far wall, with lines tying their connections. She had started on the board. but there were so many people she had to move them to the wall.

Her eyes kept moving to the picture of Anthony Cullen, the picture taken three years after his supposed death. If they really thought he was still alive, why didn't they try to prove it? Surely the Cullens weren't as invisible as they like to put off. Bella reached into the deep recesses of her memory; a training class at the academy where the Cullens were being discussed.

…

"_Did you hear?" The girl behind her asked as Bella tried to focus on her textbook. There was going to be a test over search and seizure procedure later, and she needed to pass with a perfect score. _

"_About what?" The guy sitting at her table asked, turning around. Bella sighed trying to tune them out, reciting procedural over and over in her head. _

"_They arrested Vincent Cullen." _

"_The boss? What could they possibly have to arrest him?" _

"_I don't know; the scuttle is that they found him in bed with a dead hooker, a body full of heroin, and six guns in the room." _

"_Seriously guys? I'm trying to study." Bella growled. _

"_Hey, calm down orphan Annie, we're just trying to stay up to date on current events." Bella rolled her eyes going back to her book. _

…

Bella tore through the copies of files that were scattered around the room, looking for one in particular. She moved through arrest reports, minor infractions, warnings and findings. She sighed pulling on the chain around her neck as her eyes searched the room before grabbing the ringing phone.

"Swan."

"Hey, Cap said you were sick, what's wrong?" Seth's concerned voice came through the speaker.

"Nothing, just a little under the weather, and I'm going to be out the rest of the week."

"Bells, where did you go last night after you left Locke's apartment?"

"Home, why?" Bella lied, moving papers around.

"Because I came by when I left Locke's, it was probably about two hours after, and you weren't there. I called your phone, but you didn't pick up."

"Oh, I was out getting someth-"

Something caught Bella's eye. The image she had been staring at for hours; the photo of Esme Cullen pulling her middle son across the street. Bella had never noticed the way Esme was trying to shield her son. At first, she had assumed his mother was sheltering him from the harsh Chicago snow, but now it seemed as if she was reaching for his face. In the background, Bella could barely make out the distinct face of Carlisle, and he seemed distressed.

"Isabella!" Bella jerked, forgetting she was on the phone.

"What?" She asked, clearly agitated.

"What happened? You just got quiet, and I said your name like eight times, you had me worried."

"Nothing, I just thought I saw something. I'll call you later." Bella disconnected the line before he could object. She quickly dialed another number that she was starting to memorize.

"Uley." Sam answered.

"Hey, it's Bella Swan."

"More questions?" Sam joked. "Pretty soon we're going to have you working in this unit."

"Yeah, I was wondering what you know about the arrest of Carlisle's father, Vincent." She could hear papers rustling.

"Uh … not a lot, I just know he was arrested, found guilty and was scheduled to go upstate, but was killed before processing."

"Yeah but they never figured out who was behind it, right?" Bella was trying to recall the coverage she had seen.

"Something like that, there's not a lot on the case. He was found with his throat slit in the holding cell. No one had come in or out."

"Yeah, thanks." Bella started to hang up but Sam's voice stopped her.

"Hey, you didn't tell anyone that I gave you those copies, right?"

"Of course not, trust me a little more." Seth chuckled.

"Yeah, just making sure; have a good night."

"Night." Bella tossed her phone onto the desk and walked from the room, thoughts of the Cullens dancing through her mind.

O…O

_One Week Later_

"Bella, are you paying attention?"

"Huh?" Bella looked up at her partner from the file on her desk.

"I said, are you paying attention? We figure that the killer is getting closer to Masen, he keeps killing girls that are one step higher than the one before on the campaign."

"So do you think the guy's going to end at Masen? If so, why not just go for him?"

"I think this is all about him, but they don't want him dead, they just want to scare him."

"Scare him?" Bella asked skeptically. "I don't know Seth; that seems a little out there. Do you think this is about the election?"

"I don't know what the hell it's about, but it's been a week and we haven't had another murder. It's only a matter of time."

"So let's stop him." Bella pushed back from her chair and walking over to their board. "He started with the lowly volunteer and is now at a department director."

"So what would be the next supervisory position?" Seth's eyes moved over the evidence. Bella rubbed her hands over her face.

"I … have no fucking idea." She sighed.

"Well, we could always call and ask."

"Who, fake tits, the one that mans the door?" Bella grumbled causing Seth to laugh.

"No, by calling the man himself; Mr. Edward Masen."

"I'll go ask." She quickly grabbed her jacket, and made her way to the door.

"Don't you think I should come along?" Seth asked, his eyebrows drawing together.

"Uh, I got it. Can you pull everything we got on Masen?" She didn't wait for an answer as she ran down the stairs.

O…O

"Seriously?" The blonde asked, not even bothering to get up from the desk.

"Yeah, yeah, no scene causing and all that that, just get Mr. Masen for me please?" The girl sighed and looked at her computer screen.

"He's not here; he's at a ribbon cutting ceremony."

"And where would that be?" Bella asked nicely, even putting on a smile for the girl.

"What makes you think I would tell you?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Because I'm asking nicely," Bella smiled. "And because if you don't, I'll just get a warrant. It won't be very hard at all to have one here within the hour." Bella lied; she didn't have nearly enough evidence for a warrant.

"Then that's what you'll need."

Bella bit her tongue, turning to walk out of the building with her cell phone already out. She dialed a few numbers trying to reach anyone who could help her but they all went to voicemail. She called Seth to see if he had found anything on Edward.

"No, Bella, other than the fact that he was orphaned at birth, and bounced around in the system from his own omission, there aren't any records. He went to Georgetown where he was class president his junior and senior year, then went on to intern with a few congress members while he received his law degree. He decided to move to Chicago where he entered into the primary, and won his party then put through his intent to run for Mayor."

"So, that seems very … clean, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, it just reads like the perfect résumé for a political candidate, complete with sob story." Bella's mind was working a mile a minute as she started to contemplate why Edward Masen would be killing women on his campaign. Wouldn't that draw attention to him? Or was that what someone wanted? "Seth, I'll call you back." She hung the phone up and looked up and down the street. Bella decided to wait Mr. Masen out and stepped back inside, seating herself in one of the chairs by the door.

"Can I help you?" A pretty redhead walked up front. Bella chanced a glance at the desk where fake tits would normally be seated, and noticed she was momentarily gone.

"Yes, my name is Isabella Swan; I have an appointment with Mr. Masen. He told me I could wait in his office, but he's nowhere to be found." She held out her hand to shake the girl's.

"Well I can take you up to his office." The woman smiled.

"Thank you so much." Bella smiled back, following the redhead to the elevators. When they stepped out on the floor she unlocked Edward's office for Bella. Bella entered, seating herself in one of the leather chairs again.

"Would you like for me to send him up when he gets here?"

"Oh no, he'll know I'm here, no need to keep reminding him." Bella smiled sweetly and watched as she closed the door behind her. She immediately got up and sat behind the desk, her hands pulling on all the drawers but they were locked. Bella sighed looking over the desktop for something to help her pick the locks; of course there was nothing except a letter opener that was too big to fit. She moved the mouse watching the screen come alive with a box requesting the password. Bella was trying to jerk the drawers free when the door opened and in walked Edward Masen, his eyes alive with anger.

"Detective Swan." He greeted, his voice dripping with disdain, before closing the door. Bella sat up in his chair looking towards him.

"Hello." She tried to control the sick feeling sinking into her stomach. He moved away from the entryway, removing his suit jacket and placing it over the back of the chair she had vacated earlier. He stood with his hands on his hips, the red dress shirt pulling across his chest.

"Would you like to explain what you're doing?" Bella sat back in the seat.

"Waiting."

"For?"

"You." Edward sighed, obviously irritated with her one word answers.

"Why were you waiting for me detective?" Edward raked a hand through his hair.

"I had some questions to ask."

"Well …" He waved his hand out waiting for her to continue.

"I wanted to know who would be higher up than a department director in your campaign."

Confusion set in his features.

"I'm sorry?"

"On your campaign, what position would be higher than a department director?"

"There are several, and then it depends on which function they would be preforming."

"In which did Whitney Locke work?"

Edward narrowed his eyes. "I believe she worked the Field Department so someone over her would be the Volunteer Coordinator or Deputy Director." Bella's fingers reached for the rings hidden behind her shirt, but she quickly dropped her hand.

"Are either of those positions held by a woman?"

"Deputy Director, her name is Ashley Carter."

"Is she a brunette?"

"Why do you ask?" Edward stood straight.

"Is she a brunette?" Bella asked again, reaching for her phone. Edward nodded and she grabbed her phone dialing Seth's number. "Where does she live?"

"I don't know, I'd have to pull her file."

"Do it. Now." She called Seth again, willing him to answer while Edward unlocked his computer and pulled up a spreadsheet. He rattled off her address, and Bella left a message for her partner, telling him where she'd be.

"Do you have a car?"

"Downstairs."

"We need to get to her apartment, now." Bella ran from the room, opting once again for the stairs.

O…O

"Ashley Carter, open the door." Bella slammed her fist against the door for the fourth time. "It's the Chicago Police, ma'am." Bella stepped back, drawing her gun and glancing at Edward. "You stay out here, understood?"

"What if the killer is in there?"

"Then I'll only have to deal with one dead body instead of two. Stay." She lifted her leg and kicked as hard as she could near the handle. The door gave away with a splintering sound and she stuck a hand out to keep it from slamming back into place. "Ms. Carter, I'm coming in."

Bella went from the front to the back, checking doors, rooms and closets until she found herself at the end of a small hallway. She took a breath, counted to three and pushed the door open, quickly moving around the room to check for an intruder. Once she was sure the apartment was clear, she focused on the body. It was there, on the floor; and sure enough, she was a brunette and the killer had already come.

Ashley Carter was left on her back by the door in a large puddle of her own blood. Her face frozen in fear, and the cut across her neck was the same as the last victim's. Blood covered the wall and ceiling but there were no drugs floating through the air this time. Bella took a deep breath and looked around. Once again, everything was in place, nothing indicating the grisly murder that had just taken place. She quickly called homicide in before stepping back to the outside hallway where Edward was impatiently waiting.

"You need to get out of here." She pointed to the elevator.

"Why? I didn't do it." Edward walked around her stepping inside the apartment.

"Uh, what are you doing?" She grabbed his arm jerking him back into the hallway. "You're going to contaminate the scene." Anger flashed across his face.

"Someone is killing innocent women that work for me, and I need to know what the fuck is going on!" He yelled, backing her against the wall.

"You're a suspect Mr. Masen. You can't be here when they arrive. Go back to your office or go home." Edward must have noticed how close he was to her because he quickly stepped back, running a hand through his hair.

"Will you tell me what you find?"

"No." Bella answered quickly. "I can't give you confidential police information, but if I have any questions I'll find you at your office."

"Stop breaking into my office," He pulled another card out and wrote something on the back of it. "This is my cell number; please call me so you can stop terrorizing my staff."

With that, he was gone, disappearing through the staircase door just as a group of uniforms stepped off the elevator. Bella snapped into her role, dictating where people should go and ordering them to seal off the scene.

O…O

"So how did you figure it out?"

"Figure what out?"

"Who the next victim was?" Seth sat on the edge of her desk looking over their case file.

Bella sighed leaning back in her chair, the familiar squeak cutting through the silence of the bullpen.

"Well, you figured out the pattern, I just figured out which brunette was in the next rank."

"Yes, but how did you find her name and address?"

"Fake tits from the campaign headquarters; she's surprisingly helpful when she wants to be." Seth's eyes narrowed, he didn't believe her but chose not to comment on it.

"Well, it's been a long night; I'm going to head home. You need a ride?" Bella shook her head. "Alright, well be safe Bells."

Bella sighed and grabbed her stuff before heading out. She walked down the sidewalk, pulling the jacket tighter around her. Bella couldn't shake the familiar feeling that someone was watching her. She glanced around, but couldn't see anyone who stood out. Walking slightly faster, Bella took comfort in the familiar weight of her gun on her hip, letting it calm her nerves.

She came to her building, punching the code into the front door when she felt the familiar steel of a knife at her neck. Bella stilled, the door to her building already unlocked, she didn't want to chance getting herself killed so she stayed calm.

"Hello Detective Swan." A rough voice whispered into her ear.

"Hello." She replied carefully. "Do I know you?"

"Not yet, but we'll get to know each other very well."

"Well," She swallowed. "Would you like to come inside?" Her heart was racing, and a cold sweat had broken out over her body from the adrenaline spike.

"No, he gave me specific instructions." The stranger muttered.

"He?" The knife was pressed tighter against her neck, enough to break the skin and causing Bella to wince.

"Stop talking." Bella tensed up, her hand reaching for her gun. "Nu, uh, uh, detective." He pulled the gun free and tucked it into his pants. She ran through the statistics she had learned at the academy. Ninety six percent chance of survival if you get them inside, forty three percent if you fight back and eighteen percent if you let them get you alone.

"Don't you think we should get off the street before someone sees you?" Bella was trying to get him to agree to go inside; the man who sat at the front desk could call the police if she could just get him to see her.

"Come on." The stranger pulled her from beneath the safety of the lights and into the dark alley that ran the length of her building. Fear started to creep into her as the darkness encompassed them. It wasn't long before her eyes adjusted and she noticed the silver car parked. Her mind frantically read the license plate, committing it to memory. He popped the trunk and motioned for her to get inside.

"Can't I ride in the front? Then you can ask any questions you have."

He grunted in response and shoved her shoulder causing Bella to stumble against the car. She sighed and moved with slow deliberate movements, bending to the left to lift her leg. Once it was inside, she shoved her elbow against the badge at her waist effectively knocking it to the ground. Bella rolled onto her back looking up at the man whose face was obscured by darkness. He leant over securing duct tape across her mouth before twisting it tightly around her ankles and wrists.

"Now be a good girl and settle in for the ride." He laughed before grabbing her phone and closing the trunk.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So I decided to change the update schedule to Fridays as my schedule at work changed and I'll now have those off instead of Sundays. While I hate my new schedule at work it will be easier for me to update for the weekend. Alas, here is the new chapter, and I hope you all enjoy it. **

_In._

_Out._

_In._

_Out._

_Breathe. _

Bella sighed trying to calm her racing heart as she heard the footsteps creaking along the floor near her. She couldn't see through the black blindfold that was wrapped around her head shortly after the car stopped. They had driven along the interstate; Bella could tell by the heavy sound of traffic, her attacker then turned left onto a bumpy road, possibly gravel or dirt. He drove for two hundred and six breaths before turning right then took a quick left and halted.

He had worked her over when she yelled for help, bringing her own gun to her head after three quick blows to her face and threatening to kill her on the spot. Bella focused on the voices; they were muffled, so there had to be a wall between them. She recognized her abductor's voice, but the second man was too quiet. Her hands moved over the metal that she was handcuffed to; chips of what she assumed to be paint fell off as the chain of her shackles slid across it.

Bella fisted her hands and started to jerk, feeling the bar budge just a fraction of an inch each time. She was lying on a mattress, this much she knew by the springs stabbing at her back and shoulders. Bella sighed; it had to be a bed, so chances are she was at a house. But the house had to be pretty far away from civilization.

Suddenly the door burst open, causing Bella to jump when it slammed against the wall. She counted the footsteps as they neared. Ten, she was ten feet from the door, but what good did that do? Was it a two story house? Could she run to the interstate and flag someone down? The scream that ripped from her throat startled Bella herself when his palm came across her cheek.

"Stop."

Bella's eyes darted around behind the blindfold trying to identify the other man's voice. His accent was light and full of authority, but soft, she could see the light change as he stepped around the room and walked in and out of her vision.

"What do you want to do with her?" The man that had taken her asked. The second guy must have said something because her abductor spoke again. "What do you know about the dead girls?"

"Wh-" Bella cleared her dry throat and licked her chapped lips. "What do you mean?" The guy jerked her head back by her hair.

"Do you know who's behind it?"

"No, we don't have any leads."

"Good." She felt the unmistakable chill of a knife at her throat. "I think it's time to add you to the list." He started to pull the blade to the left, cutting at her skin. The superficial slice was enough to burn, but not nearly enough to cause any permanent damage. "It's just not that exact time right now."

Bella sighed, her head falling forward when he released her hair.

_In._

_Out. _

_In. _

_Out._

She focused on her breathing, trying to keep the fear at bay. There was no reason for these men to kill her; they didn't even know her. Of course, there was no reason to keep her around either. She wasn't going to give them any information on the case, and they were fully aware of that fact. They were just fucking with her at this point.

"Take care of her." The second man whispered.

Then both sets of shoes exited, closing the door behind them.

_In. _

_Out._

_In._

_Out._

O…O

Seth Clearwater looked around the entrance to his partner's apartment. He had tried to tell her not to move here; South Loop was nothing but a bunch of warehouses converted into apartments, and the security was subpar at best. She hadn't been to work in two days; her phone was tracked to the dumpster six blocks away, and all they had was a grainy security video of her walking past the bakery four buildings down.

He sighed and released his anger against the brick building, his knuckles coming back bloody and swollen. There had to be something they were missing, something that could lead them to her location. Bella was smart, resourceful, and a fighter; there was no way she'd go without a fight of some sort, unless she was taken at gunpoint. Seth walked the street in front of her building praying to whoever was listening that she was still alive.

Something glinted in the sunlight, distracting Seth for a minute. His eyes shot to the alley where there was a glare reflecting off something deep inside the narrow passage, right next to a dumpster. He turned sharply, hurrying straight for the object. And as he neared it, Seth immediately recognized it as Bella's badge. He pulled his phone from his hip dialing their captain's number, while picking her badge up with a covered hand.

O…O

"What do you mean there's nothing on it?" Seth yelled into the phone. The CSU tech stumbled over his words as he tried to reply.

"Nothing, only Detective Swan's fingerprints, no DNA or trace evidence. Sorry, Detective Clearwa-." Seth slammed the phone back into its cradle causing a few other detectives to glance up.

"Clearwater!" Jacob Black yelled from inside his office.

"Captain, I'm fine." Seth sighed, sitting back in his chair. Jacob walked from his office to Seth's desk.

"Where's the last place Bella was before she went home?"

"We've gone over this Cap; she was at the latest vic's apartment; she walked home on her normal route, passed the bakery, and that's the last sighting we have. The guy at the front desk never saw her. So somewhere in that six minute window she was taken." Jacob nodded looking at the empty chair of one of his best detectives. His eyes scanned over the map, blue dots showing where she was last seen, where her badge was found and where her phone was located.

"So, this guy probably had a car waiting in the alley since that's where you found her badge."

"Do you think they knocked it off her in some kind of struggle?" Seth asked, anger blurring his vision.

"No, I think Swan left it behind on purpose. You know how she is." Seth nodded at his captain. "He drove this way," His finger slid along the map. "Dropped her phone then…" Jacob shook his head. "He must have gotten on the interstate. We've had uni's canvassing this entire neighborhood; if they were somewhere close we would've found them by now."

"Great, so she he could've taken her out of state."

O…O

"Rise and shine sweetheart."

The blindfold was ripped from her face, causing pain to shoot through Bella's eyes as the sunlight flooded her vision. She blinked multiple times, trying to stop the searing pain in her retinas and the throbbing in her head. She sighed, slowly opening her eyes to look around the room. They were in fact in a house; the bedroom was bare except for the old, metal framed bed and two wooden chairs. The guy standing above her had salt and pepper hair, slicked back from his face, dark menacing eyes and a crooked smile graced his wrinkled mouth. He had to be mid-forties, early fifties, six foot, probably one hundred and sixty pounds.

He reached down, cutting the tape from around her ankles and quickly ripping it from her mouth. Bella had no doubt that he pulled a layer or two of skin from her lips with the jerking motion. For four days, he had came in, talked on the phone, kicked her stomach or legs, and then exited. He applied, and ripped duct tape from her mouth and allowed her nothing to drink but vodka. She was dehydrated, famished and exhausted, Bella didn't think she would have any strength left to fight him at this point. Something about today was different though, he seemed happier, less sadistic, and then she saw it, the black shiny handle of her glock in his belt.

"It's time for your last breakfast."

The man smiled, pulling her gun from his pants as she watched him load one bullet into the magazine before snapping it back in place. He turned and walked to the chair that held a third bottle of vodka. Bella took a deep breath and pulled, she had to act now, before he killed her. The bar from the headboard snapped free with a creak and she rolled from the bed, landing unsteadily on her feet. The man turned; shock evident on his face before he lunged for her, but Bella brought the bar across her body with all the strength she could muster. A sickening crack filled the room as the metal came into contact with the old man's skull.

He fell to the floor with a thud, his hard body connecting with the old wood. She couldn't stop herself; she brought the bar down again across the man's chest, and before Bella could realize what was happening she landed a dozen blows to his body, and she was crying. Her entire being was racked with sobs as she released all the fear that she had been trying so hard to hide for the past four days. Bella collapsed onto the floor, her back against the wall as she continued crying. Her hands, as well as the bar, were covered in blood, and the dead man's body lay at her feet, almost unrecognizable because of the damage she inflicted.

Bella stood on shaky legs and pulled her gun from his hand before walking slowly to the door. The old, cracked floor groaned under her feet as she made her way out into the hallway before walking to the living room. They were the only ones here, and when Bella looked through the window she realized they were the only ones for miles. She tried to think; to calm her heart and clear her head. Bella took a deep breath, holding it until her lungs started to burn, and then slowly let it out through her mouth. She slipped her gun into the back of her pants, walking back to the room where the dead man was. Bella knelt next to his body, checking his pockets but coming up empty. She needed a phone, and to free her hands. The handcuffs had broken the skin on her wrists, but they were so numb she couldn't feel the pain any longer.

Bella checked the bathroom then the second bedroom, and what she found there made her blood run cold. Plastered across the walls were pictures of her, coming and going from her apartment, at crime scenes, surveying bodies, leaving the precinct; images of Seth and her, and also her captain and her. All of the pictures had her face marked out with a red streak. There was a single photo lying on the floor, face up with a red X over whomever she was with.

Bella walked over and bent down, picking the picture up, the clink of her handcuffs resounding in the quiet room. It was taken over a week ago when she was stepping out of Masen's headquarters with Edward himself in tow. The X did little to distract Bella from the red letters across herself.

There in black, white, and red was the word KILL.

O…O

"So, for the record, what happened?" Seth asked, his eyes drifting over his partner's bruised face. The hospital lights did awful things for her marred skin. Bella tried not to be irritated, she knew this was all for Internal Affairs. A man had died at her hand, regardless of the fact that he abducted and abused her; she had to answer for it.

"I was taken from my apartment, driven out to that God forsaken house where he handcuffed me to the bed. Then I was blindfolded, and that's when I heard another talking, but I was unable to hear their conversation because they were in a separate area." She could feel the IA investigators eyes on her, boring a hole into her head. "I was chained to the bed, and over the few days, between the beatings and having alcohol forced into my body I had managed to loosen the bar that I was attached to.

"The last day the guy came in; he removed the blindfold and he had my gun in his hand. He said it was my last day or something like that," She took a breath. "I broke the bar free from the bed and hit him once. While I was searching the house for the key to my handcuffs and a phone, I heard him get up. I hurried back to the room to try and subdue him, but I was overpowered since I was still chained, he knocked me to the floor. I picked the bar up again and hit him several times until he finally fell to the floor. I had no idea that he was dead until after I was able to call you."

The lie came surprisingly easy; it could be in fear for her job, or the fact that she honestly wanted the man dead. Bella had also recited the story to herself multiple times before this interview. Throughout all the stitches and gauze wrapping she repeated it so much she had started to believe it herself.

"Where did you find the phone?"

"Hidden in a drawer in the kitchen."

"And what happened after you called me?"

"I sat on the couch and waited to be rescued." Bella joked with a small smile which Seth returned. "Did you find my phone?" Seth nodded in response.

"What do you know about the room where the pictures were found?"

"I don't know anything about it." Bella shrugged, replying honestly.

"And you have no idea who Nicholas Gurerra is, correct?"

"Correct."

They had run the guy's prints, and it had come back quickly, confirming the man who did the abducting had been in and out of jail since the ripe age of thirteen. "Are we done here?" Bella's eyes flicked to the agent by the door, holding the recorder. He nodded once before turning it off and placing it in his pocket.

"We'll be in touch throughout the course of our investigation Detective Swan, and as you know, you've been placed on vacation to recover from your trauma." He exited without another word.

"So, you're going to have to get Cap to change his mind on this damn vacation." She muttered to her partner.

"Not gonna happen Bells, you need to rest, and they have to launch a formal investigation." Bella rolled her eyes picking at the hospital blanket.

O…O

"Here we are, home sweet home." Bella looked up at her apartment building. "You going to make sure I actually get inside this time?" She joked, much to Seth's dismay.

"Come on." He exited the car and walked to her side, opening Bella's door.

"Don't try and help me out of the car." She grumbled, hiding her grimace as she moved from inside. "Jesus Christ my body is hurting like a mother fucker."

"Well, two cracked ribs will do that to you." Seth punched in the code, unlocking her front door, letting Bella step inside. "I'm coming up with you."

"No, you're not, I'll be fine."

"Bella."

"No Seth, I'm not an invalid. I refuse to allow these people to have any more power over me." Bella waved. "I promise I'll be okay."

"Let me just take you to your front door?"

"Fine," Bella sighed heavily. "Let's go." She led him to the elevator, pulling the heavy, metal door closed and lifting the handle to raise the lift.

"I don't know why you live here Bella; with the money you have you could live anywhere; somewhere much safer than here."

"Because this place is bad ass, has a manual elevator, and my apartment is massive. Plus, I got a good deal on it." Bella shrugged.

"And people can abduct you from the front door without anyone noticing."

"Yes, I believe that was covered in the tour by the realtor." Seth pulled the door back once they reached her floor, letting it open up to the small space that held her front door. "You stay here, I'm going inside. I'll see you in two weeks when my 'vacation' is over."

"You don't want me to come and check on you?" Seth looked genuinely hurt.

"That's the last thing I want. I'm just going to take it easy and rest."

Seth nodded, knowing she was lying, but he decided to leave it alone for now.

O…O

Edward stood in front of the door for the address that he was given. Surely this wasn't the place. He raised his hand and knocked three times quickly on the red, metal door. It wasn't long before the door opened, and Bella Swan stood in place of it.

"Thanks for coming by."

Edward nodded in response. Bella stepped aside and waved him in. He looked around at the large, open floor plan and stainless steel appliances. It all had a very industrial feel to it. In the back of the living area were a pair of French doors closed tightly, and white curtains hiding what hid behind them.

"So how are you feeling?"

"Like a million bucks." Bella laughed humorlessly. "I just have a few questions."

"Aren't you on suspension?" Edward snapped.

"Vacation," She corrected. "But how would you know about that?" Bella's eyes snapped to his. Edward sighed unbuttoning the single button that held his suit coat together.

"I have my ways; I am going to be mayor."

"You _think _you're going to be mayor." She sat down on the gray couch, leaning back against the arm with a scowl. Edward stood at the end of it, looking down at her with a smirk.

"So how can I help you?" His eyes slipped over her frame, she had gauze wrapped around both wrists, bruises covered her arms, and she had a black eye along with a large bruise across her jaw. The area that drew his attention was the long, white gauze that was taped to her throat.

"You have all these connections, right?" Edward nodded once. "And they go pretty high, correct?"

"Where is this going Detective?"

"I need information on a few people who are very hard to get to."

"Are these people city officials? Govenor? Congress?"

"I don't think so." Bella bit at the skin beside her nail. Edward sighed, his anger starting to rise.

"Listen Detective, I don't have a lot of time, and I'm not one to waste words on nonsense; so who is it that you need information on."

"The Cullens." Bella watched the muscle in his jaw twitch.

"I'm sorry?"

"The Cullens, I'm sure you know who they are if you're going to become mayor."

"I'm aware of who they are. Why do you need information on that family?" Edward jerked a hand through his perfectly combed hair.

"I think they're connected to these murders and to my abduction, I can't explain why, and I don't even have any evidence to support that, but I think they are."

"I highly doubt that." Edward replied, and Bella raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you say that?" She was slipping into cop mode.

"It just seems beneath them. From what I understand of the Cullen Family, they like to put on a show, let everyone know that it was them because they're untouchable. I'm guessing that the killings of these innocent girls are an act of revenge towards me, and the Cullens do not have a grudge against me."

"So you know them?"

"No, that's why I don't have a problem when it comes to them."

"You seem awfully sure that they wouldn't want to take you down."

"Once again Detective, there is no reason for that family to come after me." Edward replied easily, slipping his hands into his pockets.

Bella looked over him skeptically; something was off. Could Edward Masen possibly know the Cullens? And if so, what good would it do? They weren't known to dabble in politics; the closest they had come was to have a few cops on their payroll.

"Well regardless of how you feel on the situation, I want to look into the family, and I can't without raising a few red flags with my captain."

"And that's where I come in?"

"Right and I can pay you if you want." Bella replied quietly. This was ridiculous; she had never done anything like this. Not following the proper, legal avenues to gather information, no investigating, ignoring her captain's orders and paying off sketchy politicians for information on crime families. Who had she become?

"Pay me?" Edward chuckled. "Can you afford that?" Bella felt anger sear through her body.

"You have no idea what I can and cannot afford, asshole." She snapped.

"You're right, but no payment will be necessary. Consider it a get well gift." Edward pulled his phone from the inside of his coat and started to text someone.

"Plus, it might look odd if I paid you and that somehow came back on me."

"I can assure you; nothing will come back to you Detective Swan."

"Good." Bella nodded.

O…O

Edward sat in the backseat of his town car dialing the number to a temporary cell phone that would only be used once. He waited, growing agitated as the seconds passed and no one answered the phone. Finally, a low 'hello' came over the line.

"Well hello to you, too."

"Why are you calling this line Edward, you know the rules."

"And you need to know that we have a problem." Edward's eyes darted to the dark partition between his seat and the driver.

"Is it Martin?"

"No, it's Detective Swan."

**A/N: Dun dun duunnnnn. What ever is Edward Masen up to? Is he in bed with the Cullen? Will Bella find out? How is he going to handle Detective Swan? Tune in next week and hit that little button down there to tell me what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So I definitely thought I had sent this to my beta and couldn't figure out why it was taking so long to get back to me when I discovered it was sitting in my drafts folder instead of my sent folder. So, instead of sending it to her and making you guys wait, I decided to upload it. Apologies for the mistakes and to my beta SunflowerFran :) **

Bella shot up in bed, causing her ribs to painfully protest, as an image flashed through her mind. She sucked in a breath, wrapping a hand around her left side and walking to her spare bedroom. Memories of a night not too long ago flew through her mind as she threw pictures around the room trying to locate two specific ones. Her eyes raced to the wall where the Cullen Family was hanging.

"Stupid, stupid," She sighed. "How could I be so stupid?" Her vision focused on the pictures of Jasper and Emmett Cullen.

"_Can we help you officer?" The blonde one asked with a smile. _

"_Detective Swan, can I ask you gentlemen a few questions?" Bella asked holding up her badge and letting it fall back to rest against her chest. _

"_We always have time for the wonderful police officers in this fine city." He responded and the other two tried to stifle a laugh. _

"_Have you men been out here all night?" _

"_No, I'm afraid we just came out here about twenty minutes ago to discuss some business." His blue eyes flicked from the alley to Bella. _

She ran to her bedroom searching for her cell phone; she had tossed it somewhere earlier after speaking to Edward Masen. Her fingers finally located it deep beneath her blankets and she dialed the familiar number.

"Clearwater." Seth's groggy voice came over the line. Bella grimaced when she looked at the clock and realized it was three in the morning.

"Seth." Bella started to speak but stopped when she heard his sigh.

"Bells, why aren't you resting? Are you calling me about the case again?"

"I found the link." She muttered holding up the pictures of the Cullen brothers.

"The link between what?" Bell could hear rustling on the other line, assuming that Seth was moving to a different room so that he didn't disturb his wife.

"The tie between the Cullens and these murders. Before we couldn't connect them just based on the fact that Carlisle owned the club but I remembered that that night I interviewed two men that were outside, and those two men are Jasper and Emmett Cullen, sons of Carlisle Cullen. I have no idea who the third man was but there was a fourth when I walked up, he disappeared before I could get a good look at him."

"I don't know if they'll go for it Bells, it's kind of a reach. I mean, maybe if you just want to bring them in for questioning as witnesses then you have enough but for anything else we have to keep digging."

"I know, but maybe you can bring them in? This damn vacation is killing me." Bella grumbled looking around her room.

"Yeah, I'll run it by the captain in the morning."

"Keep me updated?"

"Of course." Seth ended the call before Bella could say anything else. She made her way back to the spare bedroom and deposited the images of the Cullens before closing the door behind her.

O…O

Edward moved around his office searching through the countless files full of completely false information on the Cullens. He was trying to read through the material but his phone was ringing off the hook.

"Edward." He growled into the phone.

"Masen? It's Detective Swan."

Edward had to physically stop himself from snapping at her.

"What can I do for you detective?"

"I was wondering if you had any of the information that I asked for last week." She sounded uneasy.

"Yes. I have multiple files that I am currently going over to get in order then they'll be sent off to you."

"Okay, good. Thanks again for thi-." Edward ended the call tossing his phone onto his desk top. He gathered the files and shoved them into a box before writing her address on it and leaving his office.

O…O

Bella carefully drover her cruiser down the dirt road until the old, dilapidated Winnebago came into view. She shut her car off and exited carefully, then made her way over to the RV. Inside lived the only person Bella allowed herself to get close to anymore; she raised her hand and knocked against the metal frame of the screen. She looked around, surveying the wooded area before knocking again, this time even harder.

"I'm coming! Jesus Christ!" He yelled from inside. A few seconds later the door was yanked open. "What the hell are you beating on the door for?"

"I had to make sure you hadn't died on me." Bella pulled the screen open and stepped inside.

"Well knocking any louder ain't gonna bring me back." Levi Cameron moved around the small space to sit on the kitchen bench, coughing so hard he had to grip the edge of the table to keep from falling over.

"How are you feeling today?" Bella asked before grabbing a glass and filling it from the tap for him. He grimaced at the site and quickly pushed it away.

"Like a million bucks."

Levi had been her father's partner for ten years before that fateful night, he was the one that convinced Bella to stop her destructive behavior and apply to the academy. Once Bella made detective and moved to Narcotics, he had served as her captain for two years. The day she transferred to Homicide Levi received news that he had stage four lung cancer and retired, refusing any kind of chemo or surgery. Bella had given up on trying to convince him to seek treatment, he would simply state that he'd rather go out on his own terms instead of lying in a bed hooked up to a bunch of IVs.

"So when are you going to get a new place?" She asked looking around the cluttered area.

"I prefer this place, it's quiet and in the woods, I'd rather not spend my pension on an apartment with nosey neighbors." He struck a match and held it up to the rolled paper between his lips. Bella tried to pretend like it was a homemade cigarette instead of a joint.

"You know I'm still a cop."

"What are you gonna do, arrest me?" Levi took a long drag from the stick and held it in. He had mentioned a while ago that it helped with the pain so Bella ignored it. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." Bella shrugged it off.

"You're just like your old man, you know that? He got shot and still tackled a meth head to the ground then refused to go to the hospital." Bella gave him a small smile. "And you're both stubborn as shit."

"You're one to talk." She muttered leaning against the counter. "I'm going to get a contact high in here, let's sit outside." Bella pushed the door open and jogged down the three steps. She dusted off one of the lawn chairs and leaned back into it, sucking in a breath against the pain.

"Heard that bastard cracked ya' ribs." Levi stated sitting down next to her. Bella nodded in response, searching the trees to distract her. "I'm glad you killed him."

"Me too." Bella admitted quietly.

"Did it really happen the way the report said?"

"How do you know what the report said?"

"By now you should be familiar with the fact that I know everything." He smirked.

"No, it didn't," Bella admitted with a sigh, biting down on her lip. "I killed him because I wanted to, he didn't attack me after the first hit."

"I figured as much." Levi nodded, rubbing a hand over his jaw before flicking the butt of his joint to the ground.

"I lost it; I couldn't stop thinking about what he had done. Even though I had already subdued him it wasn't enough." She felt the tears lodge in her throat.

"Don't be ashamed of it Bella, you did what you had to."

"But I didn't have to Levi! I had the man on the ground and he was unconscious!" She yelled, throwing her hands up.

"Bella," His ice blue eyes stared through her. "You did what you had to."

O…O

It was nearly three hours later when Bella made her way back to her front door after trying to rid herself of the guilt that she felt with whiskey at a local bar. She stumbled down the hall, trying to find the correct key on her chain for her front door. Not paying attention her foot caught on the edge of a box, causing her to fall against the door.

"Son of a bitch." She grumbled looking down. The brown box that was left at her door just had her name and address written across the top. Her heart rate picked up and she lowered herself to the ground before pressing an ear to the lid.

"It's not a bomb." Bella jerked up, her body screaming in protest and she quickly reached for her gun that wasn't there. Her eyes fell on the dark form in the corner.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" She gripped at the smooth service of her door, trying to get off the ground but the pain in her ribs was too much.

"You asked, I delivered." Edward sighed walking to her in three long strides. He gripped her bicep firmly and lifted her to her feet.

"Fuck shit god damn." Bella gripped her side.

"Such a mouth," He plucked her keys from her hand and slid the correct one into the lock then pushed it open. "Go sit down." Edward picked up the box and carried it inside. Bella stepped into her apartment, closing the door behind her.

"So this is all the … stuff you found?" Alcohol and pain killers were swimming through her system, making it hard for her to form a coherent sentence.

"Are you high?" Edward took in her glassy, bloodshot eyes.

"No." She grumbled sitting down on the couch.

"You sure about that?"

"I am an officer … of the court, or law, I am not high." Bella knew she had ingested way too much alcohol especially given the fact she had medication in her system but she refused to let him know that. Her instincts were telling her to get Edward Masen out of her apartment though, given her inebriated state.

"Anyway," Edward sighed, pulling the lid off the box. "Here are the files you asked for. Anything you'd ever want to know about the Cullens is in here." He tapped the files.

"Like what?"

"Account numbers, balances, properties that are reported to the IRS and the ones that are not; pretty much their whole lives. I even got you their damn school transcripts."

"What about information on their middle son?" Through her blurry vision Bella could see Edward tense up, his hands gripping the lid.

"What son?"

"Anthony …" She mumbled.

"He died, a long time ago."

"No, he's still alive." She laughed. "I know it." Edward was sitting next to her in a flash.

"What do you mean, you know it?" Bella rolled her head to the side to look at him and shrugged. He gripped her arms, pulling her off the back of the couch until she was sitting up in front of him. "Isabella, what do you know?" He shook her slightly.

Her eyes searched his; Bella's brow furrowing as she tried to form a sentence but the fog in her mind was making it near impossible. There was something about Edward, something dangerous and yet so familiar. That was the last thought she had before closing her eyes.

O…O

Pounding. Her head was pounding. Her body was pounding. It even felt like her hair was pounding. A rhythmic beat in tuned with the blood that her heart was pumping through her body. Bella sighed rolling onto her back, the sheets of her bed tangling around her legs. She pushed her hair back and squinted against the bright sun streaming in through the windows. Bella sat up slowly, releasing her legs from their confinement before slowly moving from the bed. She was still dressed in the jeans and t-shirt she had worn yesterday when going to see Levi.

Bella stumbled towards her kitchen finding her coffee maker already full of steaming liquid. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion, since she had been on vacation she hadn't set her timer. Bella poured the dark liquid into a cup and brought it to her lips, inhaling the deep aroma before taking a small drink. It warmed her body and helped her start to feel somewhat alive. She groaned, the last thing she could remember was leaving Levi's house and going to a bar a block from her house. How had she made it home? More importantly, how did she get in her bed?

She turned, her eyes immediately falling on the brown box sitting on her coffee table, the lid tossed on the floor. Bella cautiously made her way over, her eyes scanning its contents before sitting on her couch. She placed her mug on the table and pulled a file from inside, letting it fall open on her lap. It was filled with bank statements.

**Account Number: 80032839 Name: Carlisle Cullen**

**Account Balance: $200,391.98 Address: 1421 Lake Shore Dr**

**Recent Transactions: Chicago, Il **

**Deposit- 07/14/2013 Cash $10,000.00 **

**07/12/2013 Cash $25,000.00 **

Bella sighed closing the folder, this wasn't going to help her unless she could figure out the people who deposited this money or provided it to Carlisle. Bella pulled the file open again looking at the address.

"What the hell?" She grabbed another file, ripping it open.

**Account Number: 80032849 Name: Esme Cullen**

**Account Balance: $491,982.09 Address: 4839 Lake Shore Dr**

**Recent Transactions: Chicago, Il **

Bella threw the file down ripping another from the box; she continued to go through the files until she was halfway through the container.

"Fucking Edward Masen!" She kicked the box from the table watching the contents spill into the floor. She ran a hand through her hair trying to keep her anger in check. She picked up her phone and hit the option for Edward's cell; listening to it ring four times.

"You've reached Edward Masen; sorry I can't come to the phone at this time. Please leave your name and number with a brief message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible or you can call my assistant at 773-234-0404."

"Masen, this is Detective Isabella Swan, I recommend that you return my call as soon as you get this."

Bella paced her apartment, her eyes darting to the false files that littered the floor. She couldn't believe he would do this to her. Why would Edward give her files with forged information? What purpose did that serve? Were they paying him off? Did he work for them? Bella sighed kicking her couch before picking up her mug and depositing it in the sink.

Bella showered quickly, washing away the whiskey that had sweat through her pores during the night. She took half of a pain pill then dressed in jeans and another shirt, hooking her gun to her hip and securing her badge to the opposite side. She was going to get her answers.

O…O

Bella walked through the glass doors of Masen headquarters, looking for the man in question. She never stopped by fake tit's desk, just quickly made her way to the elevator.

"Ms. Swan!" Fake tits yelled running after her. "Ms. Swan you have to check in." Bella ignored her, pressing the up button multiple times. "Ms. Swan,"

She grabbed Bella's arm and before Bella had time to think through what she was doing, fake tits was pressed against the wall with her arm twisted behind her back. Bella stepped away quickly, releasing the woman's arm. She turned around looking at Bella with large fear filled eyes.

"I-I'm sorry." Bella offered weakly.

"I'm calling the police!"

"I am the police fake tits." Bella snapped her mouth shut.

"What did you call me?"

"I um … I called you," Bella shifted uncomfortably. "What's your name?"

"Tiffany." She answered and Bella rolled her eyes. Of course that was her name.

"So Tiffany, I'm going to go upstairs and see Mr. Edward Masen, he has done something and he needs to answer for it." The doors opened behind Bella.

"He's not up there."

"Where is he?"

"He had an appointment but wouldn't tell me where." Tiffany fidgeted under Bella's scrutiny.

"Are you lying to me, Tiffany? You know that would be considered obstruction of justice and I could arrest you for it, correct?"

"Yes ma'am, I swear, he wouldn't tell me where he was going. He's been really irritable since yesterday and this morning he was ten times worse, yelling at us and barking orders. Then when he was leaving he said he was going out and to hold all of his calls, as well as move the appointments back that were scheduled for the next two hours."

Bella sighed pulling her phone from her hip and dialing Edward's number again.

"You have no idea where he would be?" Tiffany shook her head in response. "Has anyone called for him?"

"Well, yes but no one out of the ordinary." Bella nodded and ended the phone call when the automated voice told her his mailbox was full, probably with her threatening messages. Bella walked from the headquarters without another word, walking down the street. She was determined to track him down.

O…O

Bella drove along the bay that ran parallel to the docks trying to locate the warehouse. She looked around, slowing the car down, the tires crunching over the broken glass and rocks of the parking lot. The abandoned building was metal, with several windows missing completely or in parts, the door was boarded up at one time but now those boards lay on the ground. She exited the car, moving towards the door where she could hear voices echoing off the walls. Her gun was drawn before she ever entered the structure.

Bella's eyes were adjusting to the dark, beams of sunlight came in through the open windows illuminating small spaces but for the most part there was just darkness. She slowed her breathing, listening to the voices and trying to locate the men.

"What do you know?"

"Fuck off." The distinctive sound of flesh being hit filled the small area. Bella stepped around a large piece of glass and broken slivers of wood, trying to keep as quiet as possible. It wasn't long before a male's scream filled the room causing Bella to jump. Bella moved behind a pallet and looked through the slats. A man was tied to a chair, his shirt missing and blood dripping down his chest. The guys face was bloody and swollen, his hands tied to the chair as well as his feet.

Another man stepped up, his back was to Bella and he had what appeared to be a scalpel in his hand. He dragged the blade through the skin of his chest, causing fresh blood to rise to the surface. When the guy turned to drop the scalpel, Bella's heart stopped. Edward. Edward was the guy wielding the weapon, the one torturing the poor man strapped down.

Edward was dressed in a blue dress shirt, the suit coat and tie tossed over a second chair. His sleeves were rolled up and his hands were covered in blood and small abrasions. Edward sighed, picking up a larger version of the previous scalpel, the blade at least four inches long.

"You have one more chance; tell me who the guys were that ordered the hit on her."

"You don't want to know, fidati di me ragazzo." The man coughed, blood slipping from between his lips and splattering across his jeans. Edward drove the scalpel through his knee, the man screaming at the top of his lungs and pulling against the restraints. Bella stepped from behind the crate when Edward pulled a gun from the shoulder holster he was wearing. When he cocked the gun so did Bella, the small sound drawing Edward's attention to where she was standing. Edward's eyes widened in surprise; darting from her face to her gun that was trained on his head.

"Swan?"

"Masen," Bella nodded and stepped forward into the ray of sunlight. "What are you doing?"

"This doesn't concern you."

"Actually it does, this is clearly a crime."

"He's a criminal, I'm just serving justice." Edward pressed the barrel of his gun to the man's temple.

"Edward stop! If you shoot him, I'll be forced to fire on you."

"If that's what you feel the need to do, fire away officer." Edward pulled the trigger, the man's head jerking sideways from the force of the bullet flying through his brain. His head fell forward, blood soaking his pants and chair. Bella's finger tightened momentarily but before she could squeeze the trigger, her hand fell. She disengaged her gun and flipped the safety back on.

"What the hell Edward?" She quickly walked over to the dead man checking for his pulse even though she knew it would be futile. There was nothing tapping against her fingers, no sign of life left in the man. "I-I can't ignore this, Edward. I have to arrest you." She holstered her weapon.

Edward shrugged his shoulders, wiping his hands off on a nearby cloth. He meticulously cleaned the weapons that he had used, smearing away any trace of his fingerprints. He calmly unrolled his sleeves and put his cufflinks on. Next was his tie, then suit jacket, Bella was completely dumbfounded. He just killed a man in cold blood and now he was acting like he just finished a friendly chat.

"Well Detective, I have a meeting." He nodded and started to walk away.

"Edward Masen, you're under arrest." Bella gripped his arm, much to Edward's amusement. He gripped her wrist pushing her back against the crate she had hid behind.

"You're not going to arrest me Detective." He whispered, moving his face a mere inch from hers.

"And why is that?"

"Because that man was working for whoever devised the plan to abduct you." Bella's eyes darted to the corpse.

"How do you know that?"

"He admitted it before he was brought here. Now, you can arrest me but I can assure you that my lawyer would be more than able to create reasonable doubt based on the fact that you've been under the influence of painkillers and just experienced a great trauma. Not to mention the fact that you're currently under investigation for unnecessary force that resulted in the death of a man." Bella's anger flared.

"How the hell do you know that?" There was a case of police brutality against her? When did this happen?

"I have my ways."

"What do you know about it?"

"I know that Internal Affairs is trying to nail your ass to the wall. No one believes that the man came after you once you hit him initially. Now, if you value your job and you want to keep it, I suggest you fall in line with me. I can keep your job for you Detective; I can make all of this go away." Edward stepped back, straightening his jacket. "So do we have a deal Detective?"

Bella stared at his offered hand, thoughts racing through her mind. Did her captain know about this? Surely not, Jacob would've told her.

"Deal?" Edward asked again.

"Deal." Bella shook his hand and with one look back to the dead man, she walked from the warehouse with Edward Masen, all thoughts of why she first came momentarily forgotten.

**A/N: It's like a damn episode of Lost in here, no answers and all questions! Jesus Christ! **

**Next chapter you guys get to witness Bella beat the shit out of Edward Masen! Maybe lol. **

**Translation: Fidati di me ragazzo- Trust me boy. It's been awhile since I've actually had to speak Italian, so bear with me. **

**Til next time, hit that little blue button that says r-e-v-i-e-w. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: You guys rock my socks off, even though I've been MIA because my damn life got way too real for a minute, you still stick around. Here's the update though! I did notice that Fanfic sucks and ruins the format of everything, including moving my bank statement around on the last chapter and removing my italicized words! If things seem weird, it's just FF ruining my life. **

**Kudos to SunflowerFran :)**

"Jacob, what do you know about an investigation by IA?" The door to his office bounced off the glass wall behind Bella as she stopped in front of his desk. Jacob's head jerked up, surveying the woman in front of him.

"Excuse me?" As Captain of the 57th precinct, he was all too aware that there were too many people under his command that loved to eavesdrop; so he stood, walking around to close the door that still vibrated against the doorstop after her angry, unannounced arrival.

"You heard me; I was told there was an investigation about my abduction."

"Of course there was an investigation Bella, you killed a man."

"Why wouldn't you tell me?" She yelled throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"You needed to be resting Swan, not worried about something I handled." Bella stopped, glancing up at her captain.

"What do you mean that you handled?"

"I had my father shut the investigation down on Monday. No one is looking into you any longer; you'll return to duty when the doctor clears you."

Bella felt the air leave her lungs as she walked back toward the door. God damn that Edward fucking Masen and his lying ass. He had done this to keep her from reporting what she had seen, and now it was too late, they'd want to know why she waited twenty four hours to report a murder. She raked a hand through her hair, gripping it tightly before turning and walking from his office.

O…O

A heavy knock was heard on her door a second before she yanked it open. Edward stood agitated on the other side, his gray suit without a single wrinkle.

"Detective, you do realize I have places to be, correct?" Bella didn't respond; instead, she just stared at him, her jaw clenching in time with her fists. "You called me here for what exactly?"

"Come in."

"Your hospitality is supreme as always, I see." Edward muttered as he stepped inside, unbuttoning his jacket. He draped it across the back of her couch, the matching vest pulling across his green shirt. Bella locked her front door before turning to face him, fisting her hands to keep from hitting him.

"You lied to me."

"Which time?" He smirked, and she wanted nothing more than to smack the grin right off his face.

"Since the very first moment I met you I imagine. You've done nothing to help me and everything to hinder my investigation."

"Now that's not completely true Detective, I helped you a little. I gave you the information for the last victim, but you were too late." Edward shrugged. Bella walked towards him, her bare feet moving silently across the floor.

"No, you gave me false information. All of these files have been doctored, the investigation was already shut down, and the phone numbers you gave me don't even work." She ground her teeth.

"I'm surprised Detective, not that you discovered the numbers were false, it's not hard to find that out."

"So what are you so shocked about?"

"That you were smart enough to figure out the papers were doctored." He chuckled. Bella picked up a stack of files and threw them, hitting Edward in the chest.

"It's not that fucking hard since they all had the same information repeated in different sequences." The papers fluttered to the ground around him.

"Great police work, Swan."

"Why? Why give me false information?" Bella asked sighing. This was getting extremely convoluted.

"It was easier than telling you no; you're a persistent little thing."

Bella's anger was vibrating throughout her body. She tossed the box at his feet and crossed her arms.

"What about the investigation? Why lie to me when it had already been closed?"

"I didn't completely lie about that."

"What do you mean? The investigation was shut down three days ago, my captain told me." Bella watched as Edward's eyes darkened.

"Do you really think Black's father could close down an Internal Affairs investigation by himself? Even the Chief of Detectives doesn't have enough pull to do that alone."

"Are you saying you know his father?"

"Of course I do, I'm running for Mayor, remember? I do believe that means you're in my debt."

"I don't think so; I didn't report the murder you committed right in front of me."

"That's not nearly enough. I want you to stop this investigation into the murders of the girls on my staff."

"No." Bella replied quickly. Edward reached out and jerked her forward by her neck.

"You will stop this investigation Detective, or did you forget how easy it is for me to kill someone? You're getting very close to a place you don't belong."

Bella had had enough of his threats and lies.

He was holding her by her throat, not squeezing the life out of her like before. She easily evaded his hand, gripping his wrist and twisting it out from his body. Bella punched Edward in the stomach as hard as she could. He doubled over, trying to refill his lungs, but failing as the air left his body.

"Stop fucking threatening me, asshole!" She walked towards her door. "It's time for you to leave Mr. Masen."

Edward straightened; his face was dark as he breathed slowly through his nose. He moved quickly, gripping her hair at the base of her skull and jerking her face to his.

"I don't have morals, Isabella. Not killing or hitting women … I don't abide by that shit. I need you to know that I will kill you without as much as a second thought." He slammed her head against the door; the blood dripping down her forehead and causing extreme pain to blossom through her skull. Edward brought her head back to face him, watching the single stream of blood fall over her left eye. "Do you understand?"

"You better hope you kill me then." Bella grabbed the umbrella that rested by her door and stabbed the metal tip into his side causing him to loosen his grasp on her head. She darted towards her kitchen reaching for the knife block that sat atop her counter. As her hand closed around the steel end of a knife, his hand came over it and his body crushed her against the counter.

"I warned you." He growled twisting her hand behind her back. Edward's large hand gripped her ribcage causing her to scream in pain as he placed pressure on her fractured bones. Bella jerked her head back, slamming it into his nose as she moved from his grasp. She gripped the knife again, pulling it out so quickly the others fell onto the counter and floor.

"And I told you, you had better kill me." Bella gasped, wiping at the blood steadily falling from her head. Edward stared at her, his nose red but not bleeding. "Damn, I was hoping I had broken your nose." He smirked bringing a finger up to the bridge of his nose.

"Close but not quite. You're lucky I left my gun in the car."

"Unfortunately for you, all of mine are here." She stepped back when he came near her, walking backwards around her island with the knife held firmly in her hand. Bella just had to make it to the bedroom where her phone was charging. She darted towards the room, running as fast as she could through her apartment.

Bella slammed the French doors closed, quickly throwing the lock into place as she searched for something to place in front of them. She certainly knew the glass doors wouldn't keep Edward out for long. She jumped when the doors jerked against her back; she could hear him sigh on the other side. She ran to her closet, closing the door behind her as she searched for Charlie's old softball bat. She didn't want to shoot him again as that could just cause issues. It wasn't long before the sound of her doors being kicked open filled the room.

"Really Detective, you're hiding?" She rolled her eyes hearing him open her bathroom door. Bella ran her hands along the top shelf, finally wrapping around the aluminum bat. She pulled it down just as her body was washed in light from the door opening. Edward gripped her arm, pulling her out into the bedroom, effectively causing her to drop the bat.

"What do you want Masen?" She sighed looking up at him. Edward pressed the muzzle of her gun to the bottom of her chin, his eyes searching hers. "What are you waiting for? Pull the trigger."

"You want to die Detective?"

"I welcome death." She sneered, jerking away from him and picking up the bat.

Bella swung, connecting the head of the bat with his side causing Edward to fall to his knees with a grumble of pain. She brought the bat down across his back causing him to fall onto the floor. Edward rolled over coughing as his bones ached and throbbed with pain. Bella brought the bat over her head again, but before she could bring it down against his body her legs were kicked out from under her. She scrambled for the bat or her gun, but Edward pulled her feet, sliding her body beneath his. She could see the anger burning his eyes; he was livid, of that there was no doubt.

His hand wrapped around her neck, pinning her to the floor. Bella reached up and slid her nails down his flesh, small specks of blood rising to the surface from his jaw to his throat. The top buttons of his shirt were missing, and his tie hung loosely; she gripped it, causing it to tighten around his neck. Edward's other hand came up and grabbed her wrist, trying to force her to release his tie, but she wrapped it around her fist firmly.

"Isabella." He growled squeezing her neck tighter, and Bella pulled harder in response, cutting off his oxygen, as well. Edward let go of her wrist, removing a knife from his pocket. He pulled the blade from inside with his teeth and Bella's eyes widened, memories of her captor flooding her memory. Edward slid the blade between his neck and the tie before jerking, causing Bella's hand to fall to the floor still firmly gripping the fabric. Edward sighed, sitting back on his feet and pulling Bella to sit up by her neck.

"Now, what are you hoping to accomplish with this little fight Detective?"

"I want to kill you." She replied honestly.

"Here," He held the knife out to her. Edward felt her swallow against his palm. "Take it."

"Why?" Edward pressed the handle of the knife into her hand.

"You said you wanted to kill me, so here's your chance." Edward removed his hand from her neck and unbuttoned his vest, letting it fall to the floor. He then pulled his shirt free from his dress pants and opened it, showing his chest and abs; small scars could be seen decorating different areas. "Now, if you stab me here, in the solar plexus, with the blade at the right angle you'll depressurize my lungs and potentially stab my heart. So it's the perfect place for a clean kill from the front."

Bella's body was shivering as she stared at him, the knife feeling heavy in her sweaty hand. Did he really expect her to stab him? Edward could be talking about the weather with how cool of a demeanor he had. Surely he wasn't serious.

"What?" She rasped out.

"Here," Edward moved her hand so the tip of the blade was resting against his skin. "Just shove it in at an upward angle, and then twist it slightly to the right." He could feel how hard she was shaking, and Edward continued to stare down at her and then began to laugh. "I knew you couldn't kill me Swan, calm down before you have a panic attack."

Bella's brow furrowed in agitation as her hand fell to her lap. She jerked the knife planting it firmly into his bicep.

"Fuck!" Edward's body tensed; his hand gripping the handle of the knife and pulling it slowly from his arm.

"I can't just kill someone Edward. If I had killed you, it would've been in self defense." He held the bloody knife up and shoved her roughly back to the floor.

"So you need me to try to kill you? I succeed in everything I do, Isabella. I've already told you I could kill you if I wanted." He brought the knife up the inside of her shirt, ripping it open. Her legs were trapped under his, so even if she brought her knee up it wouldn't do any damage because she couldn't move quickly enough with their position. Edward's eyes traced every inch of her bare torso.

"If I were going to kill you, I'd want it to be slow because you piss me off." He brought the knife to the left of her bellybutton. "Somewhere like here, I'd penetrate an organ or two effectively causing internal bleeding. It'd take you somewhere around three hours to completely bleed out. It'd be long and painful." Edward's eyes were dead as he looked up at her. Bella searched his face, looking for any trace of kindness, any sign that he was going to take mercy on her. Then she felt the blade pressing against her skin, and she closed her eyes waiting for the burning pain.

"You're not going to beg me?" Edward sounded almost surprised.

"Why would I do that?" She asked calmly.

"Beg for your life Bella and I'll stop." He pushed harder and she felt a small pinch as the blade pierced her skin. There was no way in hell she was going to beg Edward Masen for her life. She'd rather die. The blade slid just slightly further.

"Fuck. If you're going to do it, don't drag it out!" The pain disappeared; just a throbbing left in its place. He held the blade against her neck, and Bella's eyes darted opened. She quickly lifted her hands and gripped his wrist, jerking him below her and pulling the knife from his hand.

"It's so much more fun when you fight me." He smirked. "I don't like an easy kill." Bella sneered and stood up.

"I'm not ruining my life so you can play some fucking game with me. Get out of my home." She pulled the edges of her shirt around her.

"That was kind of awesome how you moved me below you; I'm not going to lie."

"Get out!" Bella yelled, pointing towards the front door. Edward stood up with a smirk, his shirt stained with blood. The tracks that Bella's nails had left were bloody and raw now, shining brightly against his pale skin. Edward moved towards her, reaching out to grab her arm but Bella moved away quickly, darting towards the living room. Her breathing was erratic, and she couldn't seem to calm her racing heart down.

"Isabella we need to speak about this obsession you seem to have with the Cullens." Bella turned quickly.

"Obsession? What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I mean I don't think it's healthy that you want so much information on them, and I'm fearful for your wellbeing, I think I'll have to tell your captain."

"Like hell you will! Edward Masen if you so much as breathe a word of my investigation into the Cullens to anyone, I'll expose you to the media."

"Don't threaten me Detective."

"I'm not, I'm promising you that if you do anything like that you'll be on the cover of every magazine in this city." She looked around her disheveled apartment. "I'm not obsessed with the Cullens anyway."

"You have an entire room full of information on them." Her head snapped up.

"How do you know about that?"

"I'm the one that put you to bed the other night when you were drunk off your ass and reeking of marijuana. I didn't know you liked to light up Swan." He smirked, and Bella realized she was starting to hate that fucking smile.

"I don't smoke, it was someone else." She replied, unsure as to why she was even offering up an explanation. It was none of his business if she got high or not.

"Right, I remember telling my mom that lie." Bella's eyes narrowed.

"I thought you were an orphan." Edward shifted; all humor gone from his features as he started to button his shirt.

"I am. I meant my foster mother." He picked up his suit jacket and pulled it on, wincing as it slid over his arm. "I have to go, but we should do this again, it was a lot of fun and one hell of a workout."

"You lived in a boy's home mostly and you barely stayed in homes, what foster mother?" Bella asked as she followed him to the door.

"I bounced around in several different homes, and at the orphanage we had 'mothers.' Edward opened the door and walked into the hallway, pushing the elevator button.

"You're hiding something Masen." Edward stiffened at her words but refused to turn around.

"If I am, you better hope you don't discover it Detective." Ice ran through Bella's veins at the sound of his voice.

O…O

Bella moved around the room looking over different files that she had already read multiple times. There was nothing about the Cullens that she hadn't already memorized. Bella walked out, closing the door behind her and started to straighten up her living room, picking up the countless, useless files. She shoved them into the box and crossed out her name and address. Bella picked up her phone dialing Seth's number.

"Bells?"

"Hey."

"I thought maybe you were actually resting since you hadn't called. I did hear you were up here earlier causing quite a ruckus in the captain's office."

"Something like that. I need a favor, and you can't ask me why I need it or what I'm going to do with it."

"Bella …"

"Seth, please. I'm not going to do anything crazy."

"What is it?" He sighed.

"I need Edward Cullen's address."

"Bella, no I ca-"

"Seth, please, all I have to do is return something he dropped off."

"How does he know your address?"

"I have no idea; please just do this for me?" Seth sighed heavily.

"Fine. Hang on a second." She heard the hold music filter through her receiver as she started to wash the blood off of her kitchen counter. He returned shortly telling her that he lived in Lincoln Park. She committed the address to memory and disconnected the call after promising not to do anything crazy. She had also made Seth promise to keep this to himself, which made him even more uneasy.

She tidied up her kitchen and picked up Edward's tattered tie and immaculate vest before changing into a pair of old jeans and a CPD shirt. She grabbed his clothes and left her apartment, flagging down a taxi and giving him Edward's address. She had no idea what she was doing, or why she was going to his house, much less unannounced. Bella didn't know what she was hoping to accomplish or discover. Maybe she just wanted to show him that she wasn't afraid of him and that he didn't intimidate her in the least.

O…O

Bella looked up at the large brick home, clearly built back when Chicago had first been founded. She slowly made her way up the steps and lifted her hand to knock on the heavy oak door. Lights were on inside which meant someone had to be home. The gentleman that opened the door was not Edward, though.

"Can I help you?" He was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and shoes so shiny she could see her reflection.

"Is Edward home?" The man's black eyes darted over her before frowning.

"Who are you?"

"Isabella Swan."

"The detective," The man rolled his eyes. "Come in, I'll fetch Mr. Masen. Wipe your feet off before entering." He grimaced as he eyed her worn out converses.

"Aye, Aye captain." She joked much to the man's displeasure. She made an overly exaggerated show of wiping her feet on the small mat, and then stepped inside to the marble foyer.

"You can wait in the sitting room." He motioned to a room with dark floors and walls but accompanied with white furniture. She nodded and walked into the room, looking around at the pictures on the walls. They were all the same size, and hung the exact same distance from each other. The photos were black and white, showing Chicago in different eras, starting from what appeared to be the 1800s.

"What are you doing here?" Bella turned towards Edward's voice. He was wearing the same slacks as earlier but a black dress shirt replaced his old one.

"You left your clothes at my apartment." She held up his tie and vest. Edward growled lowly in agitation before jerking the articles from her hands. "It sucks when someone just shows up at your house, doesn't it?"

"Is that why you're here? To show me you know where I live?" He laughed. "You have no idea how many homes I own."

"I'm here to show you how fucking annoying you are."

"I've never shown up at your home without being invited." Bella shrugged.

"I really don't care; I came to talk to you about the investigation." Bella lied. Edward held his arm out, motioning for her to walk ahead of him.

"Why don't we go to my office?" Edward led her to the stairs.

"So you can try to kill me again?"

"I wasn't trying to kill you Detective, I was defending myself." He pushed the door to his office open.

"You slammed my head into the door when I told you to leave, Edward."

Edward rolled his eyes. "You make it sound so dramatic." He closed the door and sat down on the edge of his desk. "So what do you want to tell me?"

"I'm not going to drop my investigation. You can do whatever you feel the need to, but I made a mistake by looking the other way when you murdered that man and I refuse to forget why I'm here."

Edward sighed.

"And why are you here Detective? Why do you think you were placed on this earth?"

"To protect people from heinous situations like the one that claimed my parents' lives."

"Ah yes, the mugging; a man that came up and stabbed your father violently before slitting your mother's throat. All while you stood and watched, from what I recall." Bella's eyes glazed over as memories of that night flashed before her vision. Her mother lying on the sidewalk, the blood spilling out across the fresh snow, almost beautiful in the way it marred across the earth and her father gasping for air as he kept his body in front of Bella, shielding her from the masked stranger. "Now tell me Isabella, in the years you've worked as a police officer, does that sound like a normal mugging?"

"No," She shook her head. "You have no right to talk about my parents' murder."

"But think about it, really think about it. Did he even take anything other than your father's wallet? And why? Your mother had on a very large diamond ring, a diamond necklace. Her wallet was found with her body. Does that sound like a mugging?"

"How do you know so much about it?" Bella backed up, pressing herself against the door.

"Because I know who killed your parents." He shrugged.

Bella's knees locked, causing her to collapse, her back slid against the cool mahogany of the door until she settled on the thick carpet.

"W-Who killed them? Tell me his name." She begged, looking up at Edward. He moved from his desk, kneeling in front of her.

"If I tell you, what will you do? Go after him?"

"Bring him to justice." Bella whispered, and Edward smiled.

"Justice won't deliver … he deserves to die, helpless and alone just as your parents did, don't you agree?" Bella found herself nodding. "He deserves to suffer while he thinks about the pain he caused you and your parents while they bled-out on the cold, frozen sidewalk."

"I'll kill him." Bella cleared her throat. "I'll kill him." She repeated.

"Good." He smiled. "But that won't do; you see; he was working for someone, and you have the right to know who that person was."

"Who was he working for? Who would want my parents dead?!"

"I can't give you all the answers now; you'll have to see if you can get any from him."

"How will I do that?"

"You'll find a way."

His green eyes were shining with excitement as he held a hand out to help her up. Bella stared into his eyes; the familiarity that she couldn't shake was there again. All the information she had gathered over the last week started to flood her memory, all the pictures and papers she had pored over; the uneasy feeling she always had around Edward came to the forefront of her mind. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as she finally came to a realization, one that shook her to the core. She stood on unsteady legs after he had turned away from her.

"Edward …" Bella felt as if she would throw up.

"_**I think Anthony Cullen is alive and well, and I think one day we'll see who he really is and what he has in store for Chicago." **_

He didn't seem fazed by the strange words that came from her throat. He was busy looking through files on his desk, searching for something of importance; she just hoped it wasn't a weapon. The empty holster that sat over the back of his chair made her nervousness grow.

"You're," She cleared her throat, her hands shaking uncontrollably. "You're a Cullen, aren't you?" _Anthony Cullen _she thought.

Edward's entire body tensed, his hands stilling over the papers on his desk. He slowly turned toward her, his face blank. Her eyes darted to the silver gun that had been uncovered on his desk.

"Detective …"

**A/N: Holy she figured it out Batman! There's a box down there for a review! Love me or hate me, I don't mind. **


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